Secrets in the Mist
by ThirteenRoses
Summary: She finally found them...or rather they found her. Now, she is torn between a life with family, and a life with love. CompleteNejTen
1. Chapter 1

A/n: Hey, guys! Um...well its my first fic...so...any reviews are nice...except flames. If I made a mistake, just calmly point it out...please...in a review. Ok, I'm done babbling here...Actually, I'm not...

_"thoughts"_

"speech"

Ok, now I'm done...Hope you enjoy!

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**Secrets in the Mist**

**Chapter 1: Prologue**

_"God, it's been a long mission...I hope everyone's okay back home," _the young Jounin, Arachi, thought. He and four other Jounins were coming home from a terribly arduous mission near the coast of the Fire Country. It wasn't the journey, obviously, that was the hard part; it was the actual mission, which had seemed rare for Jounins in Konohagakure recently. Most missions were lower B or C rank missions just to keep them occupied, and usually, Tsunade would let them leave early to take a longer route to their destination to train on the way there. Not this one though.

"Arachi," said one of the Jounin from the head of the group, "there is something I think you should see..."

Arachi sighed. This guy was always on the enthusiastic side, but Arachi didn't ignore his statement. "What is it?"

But the Jounin did not reply, only turned and ran back into the trees, motioning for Arachi to follow. The scene that greeted Arachi was a disturbing one. Well, maybe not the scene; he had seen plenty of skilled ninja battle before. No, this time, what scared him were the combatants. He couldn't sense them. At all.

There were two people, both male, in the small clearing that he had been led to. One, he recognized vaguely as a high-ranking criminal; the unknown other was much younger than the first, but was knocking the other around as if he were a rag doll. What was the most disconcerting for Arachi was that even though he had honed his senses to that of even a Sannin, _he could sense neither of the two ninjas fighting there right before his very eyes. _The criminal, he could tell, was dead, and that was the reason for his aura being lost to the Jounin team. The other, however, was very much alive, and somehow, none of the Jounins could sense him. Who was this guy?

Suddenly, the unknown man, maybe not even man yet, turned around with a slight smile on his face. "Well hello," his mouth barely moved as he uttered the words in a rather teen-ish sounding voice, "I would like one of you to take this man back to Konohagakure along with the notice that I am coming in a few days' time." In the time it had taken to say that sentence, the young man had become a light blue flash of speed cutting down all the Jounins save for Arachi. Before he could react, Arachi was pinned against a tree with a hand to his throat. The sinister looking adolescent had become even more sinister in the last few seconds, and now, Arachi, even with all the talk of not showing your emotions ringing through his head, was shaking in fear, his countenance showing the same.

The teen spoke. "After all, I only said one of you. Now go. Go and tell the strongest of my blood that I am coming." And with that he let go and left, and Arachi was left alone with four dead companions and a long since deceased criminal in a small clearing only a day's journey from the Village Hidden in the Leaves. After confirming that his companions were dead and giving them a somewhat decent burial, even though it was inappropriate for the situation, Arachi grabbed the Jounin team's leader's body and the still criminal and fled to Konoha. This would not make for a good report to the Hokage.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Encounter**

Five a.m. _"Damn," _thought Tenten, _"I just cannot sleep. What on earth has kept my mind awake for so long? What is it, like three days since I've really slept? Oh, whatever. I'll just get up. Neji and I have an early training match anyway..." _So, she wearily dragged herself out of the not-so-comfortable-anymore bed she had been sleeping - no lying - in, and looked around the bedroom.

It was relatively small compared to many flats in the city. With her extra income from missions, which, incidentally, hadn't been much lately, she could have bought a bigger flat, but she chose not to. This was her first and only home, and she just could not bring herself to sell it, even with the numerous, but small repairs that had to be done every month. The four room flat was decorated according to her personality of extravagance in some areas, such as scrolls and weapons placed in decorative holders throughout the rooms, and austerity, such as in the simple kitchen with only the basics in it.

The bedroom itself was on the simple side, with just a bed, nightstand, and dresser, but it still had touches of Tenten in it. For instance, the beautiful katana her team had given her for a birthday (she was too tired to recall which one) displayed on a holder that had been expertly nailed into the wall by her, or the Jounin vest hanging lazily of one of the knobs on the dresser. Yep, on her seventeenth birthday, Tenten had been given the vest as a sign of her growth from the Chuunin exams, and boy, was she proud of it. But she hadn't stopped at just being a Jounin. No, Tenten was accustomed to going above what was expected of her, mostly because of being on a team with a miracle and a prodigy. So she had even gone so far as to become _the _Weapons Expert of Konoha. In other words, a Special Jounin. Now, she helped young Genin who wanted a weapon chose one based on their strengths. And if there wasn't one that fit them, she would invent one. It was just one of her gifts, as Tsunade had put it when she appointed Tenten to the position.

Now, however, Tenten was not feeling bright and cheery as she usually did when she recalled that happy day, but tense and unsettled. Her window was unlatched. It wasn't open, but still. She couldn't remember opening it, and even if she did, she would have opened the window, not left it closed. Grabbing her kunai, four in each hand, she cautiously made her way around her house. She couldn't sense anyone, but her conscience, aided by her adrenaline, was screaming at her to stay as awake as humanly possible for the upcoming event. There was no one in any of the rooms she had checked so far, and all that was left to check now was the tiny, but effective L-shaped bathroom.

As she cautiously made her way around the bathroom, she still wasn't getting any physical reading as she usually would from someone's aura, so, ignoring her intuition, which was still screaming, she turned to face the mirror. Suddenly, she felt an overwhelming presence in the room, and saw him step up right behind her in the mirror. Before she could react, her senses still ringing and numb from feeling such a strong aura, the person from the reflection slammed her into the mirror, shattering it.

As Tenten, fueled by that incessant adrenaline, barely raised her aching head, which had somehow landed hard on the tile floor, she glimpsed her attacker through slightly blurred vision and falling shards of glass from the mirror. He was young, almost her age, maybe younger, with spiky, wind-swept, light brown hair that covered his left eye. To keep the rest of his Kakashi-reminiscent hair from falling into his eyes, a headband was tied around his forehead. He wore a sort of wide, light blue scarf around his neck like what the Sound Genin wear. The sleeves of his light powder blue, slightly-longer-than-waist-length, loosely fitting shirt were folded up once, making them three-fourths length. His faded-tan colored pants were folded up the same way, showing wrappings on both his legs that covered his bare feet. An insignia that bore resemblance to a dot with two circles surrounding it, one encircling the other was present in the upper left-hand of the front of the shirt.

After gathering and memorizing to the best of her ability the appearance of the teen before her, Tenten finally succumbed to the unconsciousness that was quickly depleting her waking seconds, the adrenaline gland finally running out of power. But not before hearing the attacker throw out a few last words.

"Well, well, you're not as strong as they said you would be..."


	3. Chapter 3

A/n: Hi! thanks for the review...I had the anonymous review thingy turned off by accident...oops...but now its on! So...this takes place during the same morning as the last chapter. Sorry its so short, but the later chapters are longer. Ok...enjoy!

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**Chapter 3: The Other Side of the Morning**

Something was wrong. Neji could just feel it. He looked over at the clock hanging on the bare walls of his room; 5:19 a.m. Actually, he had awoken rather abruptly just a few minutes ago and simply hadn't been able to get back to sleep. Usually, he could control how long and when he slept down to the minute, and he was quite sure that he tried sleeping longer, but just couldn't. So, reluctantly, he sat up.

Suddenly, a faint explosion echoed throughout the still morning air. It was coming in the direction of Tenten's flat, and that was what made Neji fully wake up. _"Well," _he reasoned, _"she lives in a crowded part of town, so it could have been one of the many ramen stores near there, opening up for the few freaks who will come in for ramen in the morning." _An image of a devastated looking Naruto standing in front of a burning Ichiraku came to his mind. Neji shook the thought away and began his daily morning routine.

After leaving the compound, Neji started for the part of town he was sure the explosion had come from. Searching through most of the back allies and finding nothing, Neji made his way to Tenten's apartment. Sure enough, a small crowd of people was gathered in front the building. A gaping hole was visible on the second floor of the building, and what appeared to be water was streaming down in a soft trickle from the bottom of the hole. _"...that's Tenten's place..." _Neji concentrated chakra into his legs and made a quick bound up to the hole.

He immediately grasped the situation and yelled down for one of the onlookers to get the medic team. He wasn't about to move the oddly positioned Tenten, lest she have some sort of spinal injury. He turned back to the scene before him: a completely shattered mirror, a cracked sink with water leaking from the slightly askew faucet, and an unconscious kunoichi laying in a shallow pool of her own blood trickling from a gash on the side of her head and other numerous cuts, all probably from the broken glass. There were eight kunai lying on the counter, as if she hadn't even tried to fight the person that had done this to her or had not attacked at all. But what seemed strange to Neji, still with a stoic face as the medics arrived, was that there was no sign that someone was here other than her, no foreign aura or chakra trail. With the damage as it was, he was sure that she couldn't have done this to herself...could she? No no, Tenten was a genuinely happy person. She would never do this to herself. The only option left was that someone did it to her. Someone was here besides Tenten and attacked her, and Neji intended to find out who at all costs.

As he made his way to the hospital, Neji silently thanked his conscience for not letting him get back to sleep.

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A/n: Ok...hope that was interesting...I will upload two chapters at a time for this story, so...here's the other one in the pair. Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

A/n: Here's the next chapter...its a little longer than the first three...hehe. But other than that, I hope you enjoy!

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**Chapter 4: Motives**

The afternoon sun was bright. So bright, in fact, that it woke Tenten from her day-long slumber. As her eyes fluttered open to see the bleak, sterile hospital room, she caught a glimpse of a pretty bouquet of all sorts of flowers with get well cards strewn near the vase the bouquet was in. _"How long was I out...?" _she thought.

Suddenly, while Tenten was looking around the room for any clue as to the answer to her question, the door opened and Neji walked in with two bowls of ramen, one in each hand. As he saw her awake, a brief and barely noticeable look of relief came to his usually impassive face. Behind him, a nurse walked in and seemed surprised to see Tenten up. "My god, you were right...!" she murmured to Neji. He responded with only a simple nod.

"How are you feeling?" the nurse said a little louder than necessary.

"Okay, I guess," Tenten replied, "Um...how long...have I been asleep?"

"Since yesterday morning," Neji replied, the usual, stoic face present again.

"Oh..." Suddenly, the past day's events came flooding back to her: the window, sense of unreal danger, and then the boy...Who was he? Did she know him from some strange, forgotten rivalry from some untouched corner of her memory? He certainly seemed to know her...at least, he was expecting something more of her. _"He said I wasn't as strong as they said I was...Wait, who's 'they'? Should I know who he's talking about? No, I don't even know who he is, so how can I know who he talks with...Wait, why didn't I sense his chakra before he attacked? And why was it so overwhelming when I did feel it? Who, or maybe what, was that guy?" _Tenten grabbed her head in a frustrated, desperate attempt to stop the questions that seemed to take over her mind. She wasn't even breathing as her brain continued bombarding her with unanswered questions.

"Tenten, are you okay?" Neji's uncharacteristic words brought the questions to a halt. Tenten looked up to see an obviously concerned nurse and a rather worried looking Neji. Well, this was a change, seeing Neji at least slightly concerned. He never did this during training.

"Oh, I guess I kinda scared you there, huh? Well, I'm fine I promise...I just...need some time to think. Could you leave us for a moment?" Tenten asked the nurse. She nodded and left, closing the door behind her.

Neji handed Tenten the extra bowl of ramen he was holding. "Do you remember what happened?" he asked in a quiet voice.

"Yeah," Tenten nodded, "I couldn't sleep, so I just got up. It was about 5 a.m. My window latch was open and I didn't remember opening it, so I assumed the worst." Neji nodded for her to continue. "I picked up my kunai and check the whole apartment but couldn't sense anyone. The bathroom was the only place left, so I checked for chakra readings first - there were none - and then entered. There was no one in the bathroom, so I dropped my guard and turned to the mirror..." She paused. "I shouldn't have though; he was right there behind me in a flash and then his chakra level..." Her voice ground to a halt as her nerves recalled that overwhelming sense of foreboding that came with his energy level.

"Calm down, Tenten," said Neji calmly, after taking a chair by her bedside, "and just try to remember everything about this man that you possibly can."

"Okay...he - he had a loose neck cover over a sort of loose-fitting, long shirt," she began, "I think it was a very light blue...but my eyesight may have been affected by the blow I took. Wait! There was this insignia - maybe a clan symbol or something? I don't know, but it was like a small dot with a circle around it, and then another circle around that."

"What about his face? Did you get a good look at him in the mirror?" Neji asked, his brows furrowed slightly.

"I didn't really see his face, his chakra was too overwhelming for my brain to process, I think... It was like he had numbed my senses with it. I couldn't think, but I remember that he had light brown hair - it was almost blonde, and it kind of swept over his eye...can't remember which one, though..." Tenten made a slight grunt in frustration at not being able to see the most important part of the ninja: his face. She looked down at the untouched ramen in her lap, her medium length brown hair just inches from the surface of the noodle soup. Her hair had been down when she was attacked.

"Well, that's a pretty good start, I think, at least for the level of power this guy seems to be at," said Neji, trying desperately to cheer up his teammate without losing his stoic face.

Tenten looked up, tears threatening to spill. Before they could, however, the door to the room opened and Tsunade walked in. "Sorry to interrupt, but I heard you were awake. I think we had better talk in my office. Are you well enough to walk yet?"

Tenten nodded, and pulled the sheet off her legs. She stumbled over the edge of her bed and stood shakily on her legs.

"Help her, Neji," said Tsunade, after seeing the evident struggle the young Jounin was trying hard not to show. Neji nodded and together, the three of them made their way to the Hokage's office.

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After the three talked about the strange attacker, getting the same result as Neji had just moments ago, Tsunade motioned for Shizune. "Get me Arachi. I didn't send him on any missions and he should still be in the village somewhere." Shizune nodded and left. "Arachi," Tsunade explained, "was on a mission with four other Jounins. On their way back, they saw someone like the boy you described kill an A-rank criminal like he was still in the academy. This boy also slaughtered the other four Jounins Arachi was with including the leader in much the same way. Then, he sent Arachi back with the criminal's body, for us to verify."

"And?" questioned Tenten.

Tsunade sighed. "It was a match. That boy killed the criminal and the Jounins."

Tenten kept in her gasp of shock. She had been up against an A-rank criminal just a day ago...and lived? Well, maybe he wasn't aiming to kill her...was he taking pity on her? She clenched her fists. She didn't need pity! If he had wanted to kill her, why didn't he?

The door opened and a Jounin, maybe twenty years of age, stepped in, while Shizune stayed out and guarded the door. "Hokage-sama, you wanted to see me," he announced quietly.

"Yes, have a seat. I would like you to recall the boy who killed your team members," she replied bluntly. Arachi visibly shuddered.

"The o-only strange quality about the b-boy was that none of us could sense him. I thought he - he might have been a corpse being controlled, but e-even then, the corpse would give off some form of an...aura about it. This boy...didn't. We - we - couldn't predict his movements, and that combined - w-with his speed and agility got all four of them k-killed," Arachi looked ready to break down right in front of the threesome. His face was contorted into a look of utter despair and pain, like the sun would never shine again.

"Thank you, Arachi. I'm sorry that you had to recall that, but it is necessary here. You may leave," said Tsunade somberly, her face showing mild shock even after hearing the story over again.

"If I may, Hokage-sama, could I ask a question?" Arachi had stopped stuttering. Tsunade nodded. "These two aren't planning to go up against him, are they? Don't send them. He's too strong, and you will just end up losing two valuable ninjas. Please, don't do it. It won't help anyone. Believe me. I have felt his power, and it's not something to send two rookies into. They'll only end up killing themselves." Arachi looked pleadingly at Tsunade.

"We will see, Arachi," Tsunade noted dryly. He bowed and left the room.

"I think I should rest some more," said Tenten, her cheeks slightly flushed with fever, still trying to process what she had been told about her attacker.

Tsunade agreed, "Shizune, take Tenten back to her room." Shizune entered and helped Tenten back out. Neji was left with the Hokage. "Is there anything else you need, Neji?" she asked.

"What rank criminal is he going to be?"

"Why does it matter?" Tsunade queried.

"I...want to catch him," Neji replied, somewhat surprised at his own candidness in the situation. Tsunade raised an eyebrow, clasping her hands near her mouth in thought. _"Well, well, so he's not heartless, huh? Hm...this is interesting. Can he handle this though? Arachi said this boy was powerful...but that look in Neji's eyes, or rather, on his face...I wonder..."_

"Well," she finally said, putting her hands down, "I guess there's no stopping you, is there?" She didn't wait for a reply. "He's an A-rank criminal. That's final. Now out! There is work to be done!" And with a hurried bow and mumbled thanks, Neji exited the Hokage's office.

Alone with her thoughts now, Tsunade began to doubt her judgment. _"I hope I won't regret this...but, hey, this is Neji we're talking about. I mean, he can handle anything. I'm sure that he and Tenten will find this guy, and Neji at least will beat something into that boy's head for messing with _his _teammate." _Her audible chuckle was far from what she was feeling. _"Why on earth did this boy pick Tenten, of all people? I mean, if he was looking for strength, he would have gone for me, right? So, why her? What is there between the two...?" _

Tsunade's worries were interrupted by a haggled Shizune with arms filled with paperwork. She walked as best she could up to the desk and dropped the papers on the desk, and then, with a quick bow, left again. "Damn paperwork..." Tsunade grumbled.

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A/n: whew that was long...Anyway, hope you liked it! The next two chapters should be out in about a day or two, depending on...if I decide to put them on. But the entire story should be up by next Friday, which is the...25th. So...until the next time I upload...!

Annie


	5. Chapter 5

A/n: Chapters 5 and 6 are here! Yay! And thanks to those who reviewed...I try not to ask because even I don't review everything I read, so thanks so much to those who reviewed anyway! Ok, hope you like it!

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**Chapter 5: Two Months Time**

"You're getting faster, Tenten," Neji said through clenched teeth, as he dodged a barrage of weapons that seemed to come incessantly from the heavens. Honestly, when the clouds darkened sometimes, he had the slight urge to run under a roof or activate his Byakugan, but he would never say that of course. Most people were used to only one kind of rain. Neji was used to two.

"Thank you," Tenten's voice rang from the trees somewhere to his left, causing him to turn in anticipation to that direction. Suddenly, though, a certain kunoichi's chakra aura came from the opposite direction, giving Neji just enough time to figure out her attack and block it. Instead of flying past Neji just left of him, like she had planned, Tenten let out a little yelp of surprise when she found herself face to face with the ground...off a good distance to the right of him. "Oh alright, Neji," she panted out, rolling over and sitting upright, "You win...this time."

To her surprise, he walked over, and then proceeded to sit down next to her. They had just ended their afternoon practice. "You have been working harder than usual, Tenten. It's noticeable. Is there a reason?"

"You mean I need a reason to work hard?" Tenten replied angrily. Then, with a sudden change of mood, she quietly began, "Well, actually, there is a reason...but...it...nevermind..." She trailed off.

"So, what is the reason?" Neji persisted.

Tenten gave him an exasperated look before reluctantly responding, her head turned down. "Well, when that little punk attacked me...he-he said I wasn't as strong as he thought...or...something along those lines...and-and I just wanted to...well...uh...-"

"I understand," Neji stated plainly. Tenten turned and looked into his achromic eyes. The great Hyuuga prodigy knew what she was going through? This was new. He tried to explain, but was cut off when a figure clad in bright green spandex called to them.

"Hey, guys!" He had stopped moving forward, and was running in place directly in front of them now. "I was just running laps around the city, and Tsunade-sama told me to get you two. She didn't sound hurried, and she even told me to take my time getting to you...so I hurried."

"Thanks, Lee. We'll head over now," replied Tenten. Then, without saying a word to each other, Neji and Tenten, both knowing already what this was about, stood and started on toward to the Hokage's office.

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"Damnit, Lee, I said take your time," Tsunade groaned as the two Jounin stood before her, "Well, you're both here now...so let's begin." Neji and Tenten nodded. "Okay, over the two months you both thought I was wasting, which I wasn't, I sent out numerous missions with other Jounin to help collect data about this boy who attacked you," she handed Tenten the papers with his information, and she turned so that Neji could read them as well, "His name is Reiki Imoshinai, obviously part of the Reiki Clan. The clan is stationed in the Village Hidden in the Mist. Now, this clan was definitely right to stay in the Village of Mist because they have a bloodline trait that allows them to mask or exaggerate their chakra readings or auras. This would explain why no one could sense him; he was hiding his chakra."

"Then why did I feel it at just the last second?" Tenten asked.

"It may be that he doesn't have full control over the bloodline trait yet, or it may be that on physical contact, the victim feels the chakra at an overwhelmingly magnified level. I really have no idea. This is something you both will have to figure out on your mission...You _are _up to the mission...right?" Tsunade said it just to annoy them. She already knew the answer because she had seen the both of them training harder than ever out on Team Gai's training grounds.

She got just the reaction she wanted: two extremely pissed off Jounin who would gladly smack her out of sheer annoyance, but couldn't because of their positions. She chuckled. "I was kidding, calm down. Be back here in 15 minutes with at least a month's supply and anyone else you would like to take with you during the journey." Both Jounins, the dagger-glares gone from their eyes, bowed and left.

"Hey, Neji, you weren't thinking of taking anyone else along, were you?" Tenten asked, after they had made it out of the bustling halls of the tower.

"No, but you can if you feel we need any help," Neji stated, devoid of all emotion, as usual.

Tenten quickly shook her head. "No, actually I have this - I don't know - _feeling_ that, well, this mission might be a bit personal for me...and I'd like to keep it down to just the two of us."

Neji simply nodded.

Fifteen minutes later, both Jounins were standing in front of their Hokage's desk, backpacks set for a month. Tsunade wasn't at all surprised to see only the two of them. They were a good team, Tenten and Neji. _"They also make a cute couple," _she noted. "Alrighty then, the last bit of info left is that Imoshinai was last seen at the Fire Country's coast in a village. He killed the local police captain there and demanded that his deed be reported to Konohagakure. This is why I waited until now to tell you; I needed a lead as to where he was." She handed the pair a map, "The village is circled on there, as it has no set name." Tsunade looked at Tenten and Neji expectantly. "You both have my luck and a blessing for this mission, and that translates to 'you two had better come back or send a letter or _something_ before a month.' Got it?" They both nodded. "Then, out you go."

The Jounins bowed quickly and left. Tsunade watched them head toward the East Gate through her window. _"They'll be okay...Yeah, the two of them can almost read each others' minds. I think...I think...Oh, damnit, I want to run out there and scream at them to stop...but I already gave them the mission...and they would leave even if I retracted it...Oh God, you two had better come back soon!"_

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On their way to the Eastern Gate, Tenten and Neji ran into their one and only green spandex-clad sensei, Gai. "Why hello, my youthful students!" he exclaimed, "and just where are you two headed off to in such a hurry, hm?"

"We were sent on a mission, sensei," Tenten explained as vaguely as she could, avioding eye contact as well.

"Rank," Gai commanded rather than asked. He saw his two students shift uncomfortably in front of him. "Well, out with it, or I'll tell Tsunade to recall the mi-"

"S-rank," Neji cut in. Tenten waited anxiously for her sensai's gasp of disapproval. He was proud of his team, but even he was a little surprised that Tsunade had given out an S-rank mission to them. Those were saved for Jounins with more experience.

_"Well at least the Hokage has faith in them and their abilities, ne? Hm, I wonder what the mission is," _Gai mused, _"but I shouldn't ask. It's an S-rank after all. God, I hope Kakashi didn't put them up to this...No, even he has some sort of honor to live up to. Well then, I can only do one thing."_

"Alright, you have my luck, youthful students of mine. Come," said Gai as he started toward the East Gate. All the way, the team walked in silence, each wondering what was in store for the others, except Gai. He talked on and on about such trifle things as if there were any ramen stores where they were going. Both of his students had been around him long enough to know that this was his way of showing concern and anxiety.

At the gate, Tenten said, "Gai-sensei, don't be worried about us, please. We can handle ourselves. We'll come back, okay? I promise."

Gai's façade finally cracked. "Why didn't you at least ask for help? Take Lee along. Smaller numbers doesn't always mean you're brave. It can mean the difference between life and death, Tenten. I just want you to know that. The mission...it's over that attack, isn't it?" During his talk of ramen stores, Gai had really been thinking about the mission. He continued without an answer from his pupil. "Look, I know that this mission may be a bit...deep for you, but still, both Lee and I are here. You can always ask for help, got it? Just send the word and we'll rush to your location with all the strength of a thousand youth fil-"

Tenten sighed. "Gai-sensei, you don't need to worry. I just told you that. And I know that the rest of the team is here. I promise to call for help if we need it, so...don't worry, okay?"

Gai reluctantly nodded. "Well then, you two had better get going. It's already three," he motioned to the sun's position.

Both Tenten and Neji, who was quiet during the others' conversation, bowed and thanked their sensei. And then, they started away from Konohagakure. After the two had turned away from the gate, Lee jogged up just in time to yell a hurried goodbye to his two comrades. "They'll be fine, Gai-sensei. I know they will," said Lee reassuringly, even though he was wondering the same thing his companion next to him was:

_"Will we ever see them again?"_

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A/n: Hope you liked it! Now...on to chapter 6!


	6. Chapter 6

A/n: Last chapter of the update here...Hope you like it, and thanks for reading!

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**Chapter 6: Journey**

"We've been traveling too long. Let's camp here," Neji stated without enough emotion to convey fatigue.

"Right," said Tenten. It was the end of their third day of traveling and both were beginning to get restless with the seemingly endless foliage that separated them from their target. She began to set the tent while Neji kept watch. They had gone through this routine two nights already, and actually, they had made great time getting here. 'Here' was just outside the village that Imoshinai had last been seen in. It was late already, and neither Tenten nor Neji felt like going through the hassle of finding an inn that was open at this hour. "Okay, Neji, done here. I'm going to set the traps and collect firewood," Tenten said. She sighed. "Wow, this still seems weird without Lee, even after two days already. Huh...oh well, I'm off." Neji nodded, and Tenten sped off. She could've sworn she heard him warn her to be careful, but when she came back and asked him about it, he denied it.

Tenten slept first, slowly unrolling her hair from the two buns on her head, and carefully, slowly, nodding off until Neji called to her to begin her shift. Usually, that would be during the early morning hours, about one or two. This time, though, he called to her later in the morning.

"Tenten...Tenten, wake up," Neji said softly, tapping her shoulder. After staying up an entire night, taking both shifts, he was too tired to keep the usual voice of his, the one devoid of emotion, on. He actually hadn't meant to let her sleep away her shift, but when he had tried to wake her before, she was whimpering. That wasn't something he usually heard from her. After all, she was strong enough and had enough confidence in herself to hold her ground with any opponent without so much as flinching. She had once told him that it was something he had taught her. Back to the matter at hand: Tenten. She had a pained look on her face, her body rolled up in a ball on top of the sheets, and as much as he tried to, he couldn't see the scared, weak looking child in front of him as his teammate. She had never cried in front of him, never cringed when he spoke or looked her in the eye. _"This must be some nightmare if it can scare her this much. She was never this frightened of anything in her life, I'm sure. I should do her the favor of getting her out of it. Plus, it's getting to be sunrise and we need to keep moving to keep up with-," _Neji stopped himself from thinking of that name, as he gently shook Tenten's shoulder. She groaned slightly while uncurling herself from the fetal position, before finally opening her unfocused eyes, and looking at him.

"Hey...y-you're not...Neji?" She was obviously not fully awake. This was strange as Neji was always told she was a morning person. She never had a problem getting to early sparring matches. "Oh...I'll...go start my shift," she mumbled before jumping up into the canopy above. Neji didn't try to stop her; she would figure it out soon enough. Until she did, Neji busied himself with cleaning up as much of the camp as possible before sunrise, when she would figure out what time it was.

Just when the sky began to lighten, she jumped down, a look of pure loathing on her face. She was definitely awake now. "Why didn't you wake me for my shift?" Her hair was up in the two signature buns again. _"Is he taking pity on me too?"_

"You were writhing in your sleep, Tenten. You _wouldn't_ wake up. I tried, but you didn't," Neji replied slowly.

His comrad blushed slightly. _"Shoot! Did I really do that? Neji must think I'm weaker than even...than even - Oh! It doesn't matter. I've been labeled,"_ Tenten thought, turning her head down in shame.

"What was it about, Tenten?" Neji demanded rather than asked. He wanted to know what exactly was frightening Tenten to the point of tears. He had never seen her cry. Not once. She didn't answer. Again, he asked.

"You just won't quit, will you, Neji? What if I don't want to tell you, huh? I don't have to share my whole world with you, you know!" Tenten was a little surprised at herself. She had never blown up this much at him before. Usually, his prying into her thoughts was the only way she knew he cared, even if only slightly, for her. It was the closest thing she had to a nagging set of parents. He was all she had to lean on, and she had pushed him away. _"Well, children keep secrets from their parents, so why can't I from Neji?" _Tenten nearly gasped in horror at the line that went through her head. Secrets? From Neji? Usually, he could figure out if she was lying about something; she was never a good liar...but secrets? No, Neji was her biggest confident, like the younger brother who would stay loyal no matter what you did to him.

"No, I won't. Now, either tell me now or tell me later, Tenten. What was it about?" Neji stated calmly, although her outburst had hurt. This was why he didn't really talk to anyone else. Tenten understood silence, and she had no one else to confide in but him. She always talked first, made the first move toward a meaningful conversation. No one else did that with him. Now, however, she didn't want to talk. _"So, I'll talk first this time. I will ask her."_

She had quieted down by now, slowly stooping to pick up any stray sign that they had camped there. There was silence for a moment. Then, "You'll probably think I'm weak and stupid for this," Tenten croaked out quietly through silent tears, "but...I-I dreamed about that boy. In-in my dream, I was seeing...my parents killed by him this time. They...were part of - of the Jounin squad - the one Arachi was in. I-I just watched them be slaughtered right before my eyes, but then - but..." She had trailed off.

"But then?" Neji was curious, now. Another thing Tenten never did was stutter, at least not this bad. This was rivaling Hinata's. She was always sure about herself and what she was going to say. What was so bad that she had to stutter _and _cry?

"But then, I looked down, and...and - and it was _me_!" she almost sobbed, " It was me; I was that boy, Imo - Imoshi-whatever his name was, but I had killed my parents. It - I didn't know what to do. I was scared and alone, and then..." She was slowly beginning to calm down, but the tears were still flowing. "And then I heard my name, and I thought it was him. I turned around, but it...it wasn't. It was you, waking me up," she ended, turning away once more.

So that was it. Her parents. She never talked about them. Neji had learned that. When she did, once, she was vague, like she didn't quite know what she was talking about, like they were a dream she was struggling to remember. He never asked her about them. In fact, he never really asked her about anything. She just told him. "The sun is rising," Neji observed. He didn't want to pry more than he already had, lest he earn himself another outlash from his teammate. "We had better get going."

Tenten sighed in relief. She knew he had heard and understood her words. He always did. Another thing was that he always knew was when to stop talking, not that he did that in excess, but stop asking. When he had asked about her parents one time, and she had obviously been uncomfortable talking about them, he had stopped and never asked again. Tenten looked up into the brightening sky _"I guess that's a good quality." _"Yeah," she said, drying her eyes, "Let's get going."

So, the pair set off toward the town they had camped near. Like Tsunade had said, it had no set name. The town seemed run down and poor compared to Konohagakure, but the people were happy. There were children running throughout the streets and shops, merchants calling to anyone who would listen, and women with huge pots on their heads, carrying some precious cargo or another in their arms: a small child, food, clothes.

They stopped in front of the police station and asked for the sheriff. A man, who introduced himself as the step-in chief came forth to greet them. He explained that Imoshinai was long gone. He had rented a boat and taken off when the mission had reached Konoha. The step-in had no idea why the boy hadn't just taken the bridge as it was free. Nevertheless, he wasn't in the town or the country. He was in the Wave Country.

"Alright, now what?" sighed an exhausted Tenten, after learning of the criminal's escape from the Fire Country.

"We either follow him, or we head back with a failed mission," Neji stated, his logical mind already figuring the consequences of both choices.

Before he could say anything more, Tenten cut in, "We are not going back now, not after getting this far."

"Then we had better send Tsunade a letter. She'll want to know where we are after three days. But...she might not approve of us going into another Lord's territory. After all, we have consent from neither Tsunade nor the Feudal Lord of the Water Country."

"But," Tenten argued, "we have to get this guy. We need to learn his motives, his background, everything we can about him. And right now, we have nothing. I don't know about you, but I certainly don't want to go back to Tsunade after all the worrying she suffered over us and tell her that we came up with nothing. Same with Gai-sensei. He's proud of us for a reason, Neji."

Neji looked at her hard and after a pause said, "You also have your own reason for catching this boy. I guess you'd continue on without me if I left, then? Well, there's no point in running off to get yourself killed alone, is there? At least two people will stand a chance. Plus, it will look less suspicious with two people traveling than one alone," he stated, half thinking aloud, half musing.

"Then its settled," Tenten said, "We're continuing on toward the Water Country."

"First, we should write to Tsunade."

----------

As Tsunade walked into her office in the earlier part of the morning, she noticed a letter on her cluttered desk that stood out. It was worn from travel and faded from sun. It read

_"Tsunade:_

_We are following Imoshinai into the Water Country, probably into the Village Hidden in the Mist. When you receive this, we will already be there. Do not worry._

_-Tenten"_

"Ha! They tell me not to worry. Damn...following him into enemy territory? That's a bit brash, even for Tenten. But, they are Jounins. I hope they aren't too low on supplies yet. Its only been six days...but...ugh!" Tsunade growled in frustration. How did they plan on getting in the Village Hidden in the Mist? They could be killed. After all, relations with that particular village had never been great. It was because of a new clan that had taken a major roll in the government there but itself had too many internal conflicts to keep up with a ninja village. But even if they got past that, there was always the threat of them meeting up with Imoshinai and not being strong enough... _"Oh god, what did I let them do?"_ Tsunade thought, _"They're going to be killed!"_

_----------_

"Stop! State your reason for being here, name, and rank."

"Shoot," Tenten whispered to Neji, as they walked up to the guard, "what are we going to tell him? 'Oh, we were just coming to kill this boy who attempted to kill me.' " She must have said the last part a little too loudly because the guard at the gate to the Village Hidden in the Mist glared at her before asking what exactly she had just said. "Oh!...uh...I-we-" She was cut off.

"We're here to see family...distant family," Neji stated as calmly as if it were the truth.

"Both of you?"

"No, just her. I am an escort."

Tenten started to protest at the last statement but was cut off with a well timed glare from Neji. The guard didn't notice it.

"Alright, then all I need are your names and ranks," the guard still didn't seem satisfied with the answer.

Tenten answered this time. "My name is Rei, and I am a Jounin. My escort is...Arachi and he is also a Jounin. Now," she said, trying out a voice that seemed to command even the air, "will that be all?" They were the first names that came to her.

The guard was unphased. "Yes," he said simply and allowed them to pass.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Tenten sighed in relief. "Wow, that was close. Hey, you're a really good actor, you know that?" Neji simply raised an eyebrow.

"Keep your voice down Tenten. Remember, we are not welcome here," he said quietly. "Its getting late, and I don't think traveling around here at night is safe. We had better find an inn to spend the night, or we'll be attacked."

"Right. There's a place," Tenten said, pointing to a fairly safe looking inn. She noted the poor state of the buildings and the poor quality of the air. It was like the sky wasn't even welcoming them here. In every alley, she saw children starving. There were flies everywhere, and the whole town, even the stars in the unwelcoming sky, seemed dull and dirty. The village was being neglected. In turn, the citizens were too. Or maybe they were the ones who were neglecting? Of the few people still walking the streets, few seemed sober. Even fewer smelled sober. Everywhere she turned, Tenten received..._looks_, as there was no other word to describe it. They watched her like a child watched a toy he couldn't have, with desire, lust almost. Tenten instinctively walked closer to Neji.

She looked at him in her peripheral vision. He didn't seem scared. In fact, he seemed to be glaring back at all the bastards who looked at her...in an almost...protective way. _"Neji? Being protective of me? Ha! What a laugh,"_ Tenten thought. Still though, she kept close to him while getting to the inn. "Neji, let's hurry up. I don't like this place," Tenten said quietly to him.

One of the drunkards on the street piped up. "Wha's tha' ya say, li'l missy? Eh? Ya don' like dis pace? Huh? Is tha' i'? Well...maybe we shou' we'come ya, eh? 'Ow do tha' soun' to ya, li'l missy?" By now, he had gotten up and was coming toward her.

She and Neji walked faster.

"Wai'! Come ba - hic! - I-I wanna s-see ya ova he-" he was cut off by a lethal blow to the head from Neji. He didn't need Byakugan in this case.

"That's one less idiot in the world," he mumbled, motioning for Tenten to hurry. The rest of the street scum stayed away after seeing one of their own crumple in the blink of an eye, and the two Leaf Ninjas made it safely to the inn to spend the night.

Just before tucking herself into her own bed that night, Tenten started, "Hey, Neji...?"

"Hn?" came his usual reply from her right, Neji already half asleep in his bed.

"...Thank you." No reply came back. Tenten smiled and turned over onto her side. He had heard her words. He always did.

----------

A/n: Wow...that was a long chapter...! Anyways, thanks for reading! And do tell me if the characters seem kind of OOC because I would like to try and fix the problem if its there. There's no point in a fanfic if you change the characters too much I think...

Chapters 7 and 8 should be up sometime on the 20th or 21st. Until then,

Annie


	7. Chapter 7

A/n: Here's chapter 7! Its rather long...but...hope you enjoy anyway!

----------

**Chapter 7: Meetings**

The next day was set to search the village for Imoshinai. The two shinobi split up to cover more ground. Neji found the Reiki Clan grounds and asked to speak to a representative there, after finding Tenten.

"Neji, see that symbol on their shirts?" Tenten whispered, "That's the one Imoshinai had on...Tsunade said he was part of this clan, right? Then, why was he all the way out in Konoha? To get me? I have nothing to do with this family."

The representative came out. "Hello, my name is Eimie. What can the Reiki Clan do for you today?" She was extremely cheerful, like the rest of the grounds. Suddenly, before the pair could respond, a huge chakra reading was felt blowing throughout the complex. Both Neji and Tenten flinched with the urge to move into a battle position, but kept still for the representative, who didn't seem to notice. "Oh, don't mind that," she mentioned after seeing the newcomers recoil slightly, "They're just practicing. Its nothing to worry about. Here, let's move away from the training grounds."

She led them away from the main gate of the complex into an office. The room was clean and spacious, the signs of a wealthy household. _"Why are these people living in luxury when the rest of the town isn't?"_ Tenten wondered, _"But, we're on the complete opposite side of town...so I guess that would make a difference."_ She shifted uncomfortably.

"Please, sit, won't you?" Eimie asked cheerfully, her long dark brown hair swishing softly as they sat. After all, this might take a while. "Now then, what can we do for you?"

Neji spoke. "There is someone in your clan who attacked us in Konoha. We were sent to negotiate peace terms and punishment."

The representative gave a slight gasp, her cheery face faltering. "It must have been..." she mumbled quietly. "I'm so sorry. Could you tell us his name...or what he looked like?"

Neji narrowed his eyes. _"She knows something. She doesn't even know who we are and yet she's believing us? There's a forehead protector, so she is a ninja. No ninja is this naive. Yes, she must know something more."_

Tenten gave the description she had given Tsunade.

"Oh, this is bad...his name is Imoshinai," Eimie offered, "He...he ran away because well...his father died just a few weeks ago, the head of clan. And at the funeral, his mother thought he wasn't fit to be the next head. She...she told him that there was another child, that his father had an older child, one that was not legally part of the family, if you know what I mean. She told him that the only way she would allow him to be the head was if he found that child. So, he left." Eimie grimaced, remembering the tense funeral. "You see, his father went on a solo mission to another country, and, according to the rumor, he had an affair with another kunoichi and ended up begetting another child. This all happened about two months before his wedding," she explained. "Here, I - the clan is very sorry for his actions. Um...we're about to start dinner, would you care to join us? Its the least we can do for all your troubles. And you can lodge here as well. I bet the street merchants and rouges have tried to mug you already. This village, even though it doesn't seem like it here, is dying. There's no sense of morals anymore."

Tenten and Neji both nodded slightly, getting up from their sitting positions in the chairs.

"Alright, follow me," said Eimie, her genial face back on again. The three ninjas made their way to the huge dining hall via the numerous halls and rooms. Along the way, they received many curious stares from children and elderly alike.

"Uh...Eimie," Tenten wondered aloud, "why is everyone staring at us? Don't you guys ever get visitors? I mean, you are very politically active here, aren't you?"

The guide responded, "Oh, well, you see, we rarely every see the visitors. Usually they meet in the office. Actually, that's why we put the den so close to the front of the complex. So that the rest of the complex wouldn't be disturbed with the frequent visitors."

"Oh," Tenten replied as they began sitting down for dinner.

"Yeah, our frequent visitors, the ones who get to know the entire complex, get used to the stares. No one around here is used to 'normal' auras and chakra readings. I guess its in their blood to scrutinize everything that gives off chakra," Eimie shrugged, "Don't let it get to you. They're just curious."

As the rest of the family sat down for the evening meal, Neji realized why the complex was so big. There were over twenty people sitting at the table now, and still more coming. The last seats filled up quickly and a few more stragglers came by, not finding a seat. So, someone would drag in a seat from the other room and squeeze it in somewhere. All in all, there were slightly over thirty people sitting at one long table. _"Good lord! This is bigger than even the dinners at my complex... Don't they stagger it?"_ Neji thought. It certainly was a large family, and all of them seemed to be fiddling with their chakra flows all throughout dinner, which was surprisingly quiet for the large number of people at the table. With thirty different auras all changing every second, Neji couldn't help but feel nauseated. It was overwhelming. He looked at Tenten. She seemed distressed, but as was always with her, she could hide it from the untrained eye.

---------

After dinner, Eimie asked a maid to get a guest bedroom ready for the two Jounins.

"We would like to pay our respects to the late Head, if you don't mind," Tenten stated, once they had left the dinner table.

Eimie seemed a little surprised at this, but complied with the request. "Of course, right this way," she said. After leading them past more closed doors and through more hallways than a maze, they came to a solemn looking room with prayer strips hanging from the door. The room was a corner room in Eastern part of the building, so at the other end of the open hallway, the setting sun was clearly visible. "He always liked to start the day with the sunrise, said that there was really nothing like it in any other part of the complex," Eimie explained after seeing Tenten marvel at the view. They entered the dark room.

It was his bedroom. They hadn't moved him yet from his position of death, as Eimie had explained. He had died in his sleep. His heart had stopped sometime during the night, and he had gone peacefully, without any pain. Neji and Tenten bowed before the coffin, side by side, as Eimie waited by the door, looking calmly at the pair. As Tenten came up from her bow, so did Neji. She stared at him out of the corner of her eyes, not wanting Eimie to know that Neji was scrutinizing the deceased head with Byakugan. He had apparently found something of interest as his eyes were slightly troubled and wide. _"Just as I suspected, but who? And why? What is going on here?"_ Neji wondered as he deactivated his Byakugan and began to stand.

"Thank you," he said to Eimie, just as the door opened and another older woman stepping in. She stopped.

"Why, Eimie-chan, I didn't know we had visitors...from Konoha," the woman said in a quiet but sickeningly familiar voice. She sounded like Imoshinai. Almost exactly.

"Reiki-san, this is...Oh dear! I didn't ask your names. Oh please forgive me! It was so rude of me..." she slapped her forehead, realization and shame written on her face.

"Oh!" Tenten hadn't even noticed, "Don't worry about it. My name is Rei. And this," - she motioned to Neji - "is Arachi." It wouldn't be a good idea to be going around being called by different names in one town. Plus, she didn't fully trust this new woman.

"Well, Rei-san, Arachi-san, if you will excuse me," said Eimie, bowing, "I believe that Kanroku-san is calling. I should be going now. Reiki-san, if it is no bother to you, would you show these two their room?"

"Of course, Eimie-chan. Don't worry about us," said the woman.

"Thank you!" Eimie nearly ran over the others walking outside in the hallway in her haste.

_"That was odd,"_ Neji thought.

"Well I suppose I should introduce myself. My name is Reiki Kisaki. I am the late Head's wife."

"I'm so sorry about his untimely death," Tenten immediately offered, although the woman didn't look too melancholic.

"Well," she sighed, "everyone has to die sometime, right?"

"And you thought his time should be now?" Neji suddenly put in. Tenten understood now. Poison. Neji had seen poison in the old man.

"What?" Kisaki gasped. Her make up lined eyes widened and her tinted lips parted in astonishment.

"You poisoned him, didn't you?" Neji answered her state of shock with only the kind of placidity he could achieve.

"What-what gave you that idea?" Kisaki seemed genuinely baffled but not innocent.

Still, Tenten began to doubt Neji's assumption. _"What's her motive, Neji? Why would she do it?"_ Tenten thought.

Kisaki spoke again, her initial bout of stupor gone, "I assure you I didn't do it, but...it was bound to happen. He was a cheater and a liar. Someone was bound to want to get even with the bastard."

Neji stared coldly at her. "I can understand why you would want to kill him after what he did," he stated calmly, referring to the affair, "but not admitting it is the sign of a coward. If you truly hated the man that much, you would have told the entire complex by now."

"I would have told them only if I had done it, Arachi-san. But, alas, you have the wrong avenger here. I didn't kill him, only disgraced him at his funeral," Kisaki said, pointing out the flaw in Neji's theory, "Now if you two will excuse me..."

"Fine," Neji said, devoid of emotion. _"What? Why wasn't it her? Everyone else on the complex loves this man. She is the only one who doesn't, so why wouldn't she kill him? After all, she didn't look too sad coming in...almost...giddy. There is something more here."_ As he and Tenten left the suddenly chilly room, they could've sworn they heard a small snicker.

Outside, a man was waiting just to the left of the door. His silhouette was dark against the rising moon in the background. He looked up. "Ah, you are done? Good. Well my friends, my name is Kanroku. I am the identical twin bother of that poor deceased man in there." Neither Neji nor Tenten knew what exactly to make of this man. He was smiling even after explaining his close relationship with the Head. His tinted light blue kimono and navy hakama seemed incongruous for the occasion of visiting his dead twin. He wore his Mist Village protector as a belt, and the Reiki Clan symbol was sewn onto the upper right arm of his kimono. "Is that snake of a woman still in there?" he suddenly asked, his smile gone from his mustached face, "God, when I get my hands on her throa-oops! Terribly dense of me to go about insulting my sister-in-law, ne? Well, its not like anyone on the complex really cares for her. You see, her clan arranged the marriage between her and my brother. It was meant to raise their status among the other clans of Kirigakure. Our clan agreed to let in that horrible woman, and when she had a son...well, the rest of the clan was overjoyed that there would be a powerful heir. But not me, ha! No, I knew she was plotting something with that brat of hers," Kanroku explained, clearly hating the woman with everything he had.

"Planning what exactly?" asked Tenten.

"Well," said Kanroku, surprised that the young kuniochi hadn't understood what he had been alluring to, "to get her son to be the clan leader of course. Why else would she kill my brother."

"But she sent her son away and he became a missing nin," Neji cut in, not liking the man's attitude toward his own flesh and blood.

"I don't know what exactly goes on in that brain of hers," shrugged Kanroku, "if you can call it a brain, but I think she was trying to prove something. That she was better than his illicit lover or something. Well, here's what I think: _any_ woman would be a better clan member and wife than her!"

"Well, that still doesn't make her son Head, does it?" asked Neji.

"No, but she has enough political power that if that brat came back, she would be able to make him Head. And the rest of the clan would follow along. They wouldn't care." Kanroku now peered at Tenten, a look of curiosity plastered onto his features. "Eimie-chan said that the brat had the wrong person...but...I think otherwise. You look strikingly like my brother," he stated, now only inches from her face.

Tenten backed up. "I - I what?"

Neji watched on with interest but stayed cautious. _"If that man tries anything with Tenten, I'll... Wait, he has a point. Kanroku said he was identical, and I don't know why I didn't notice this before, but Tenten looks very similar to him... Could it be? Has she finally found her family?"_

"You must be the child," said Kanroku, confident in his ability to recognize him own flesh and blood, "I wonder why Eimie-chan said otherwise...maybe we should get her eyes checked..."

Tenten's eyes were almost as big as the plate she was eating on just an hour before. "You...don't really mean that...do you? I mean, I never...I...You really think so? You're sure...that...I-I'm...your...niece?" Her legs seemed to turn to jelly under her and she wobbled precariously, leaning on the wall behind her for support.

"Positive," said Kanroku nodding, giving her much needed space.

"Well..." Tenten didn't know what to say. She had found her family, her home. She had found the life she had always thought lost to her. _"I...am meeting my uncle. The word sounds so foreign...like it was never meant to grace my lips, like...I-"_

Her thoughts were cut off. "Come now, its not that unbelievable, is it? Ok, you want more proof," he laughed after seeing the stunned face of the teen before him, "Then, I'll give you some." Kanroku began to walk down the hallway. "Come," he said, turning slightly, "My brother went to Konohagakure for his mission. It was an information gathering mission on the Fourth Hokage. He was to stay there for a year. During that year, his marriage was arranged, and he...well, let's say he was up to his own doings there, ne?" Kanroku chuckled. "When he came back, he was terribly ashamed and told me about it. I offered to take his place in the wedding, but he refused, you see. He was always a man of honor after that mission... Anyway, he described her for me, the kunoichi, I mean. She dark hair, darker than he had ever seen, he said, because everyone here has lighter hair, but for a few. And he said she had a beautiful smile, like an angel's. He said he had never seen anyone with a smile like hers. He never did tell me her name, said it wouldn't be right, wouldn't be fair to her. What a guy, ne?"

Tenten still didn't know what to say. There wasn't any proof besides her appearance that she was his niece. As much as she hated to admit it, even to herself, she desperately wanted a complete family, a constant in her life, besides Neji. _"One day, he'll get himself killed on a mission, and then...and then, I won't have anything...but - but I'm a strong girl. I have gotten along fine until now without a family, haven't I? I pay my own bills, do my own laundry, clean my own house...flat, whatever. This guy still hasn't convinced me."_

The look on her face must have given it away because Kanroku let out an exasperated sigh, turned around and stopped. They were in the courtyard. "Fine, here's the ultimate proof. Do exactly as I say, okay?" Tenten nodded, curious. "Okay, I want you to become invisible. Pretend that you're completely invisible, like no one can see you at all."

Tenten looked incredulously at him. "You want me to do what?"

"You heard me," said a smiling Kanroku, "Try it."

"Okay..." said Tenten closing her eyes. She had played around with the idea when she was younger. It had always seemed like something that would be fun. But now, she was eighteen and completely above such childish wishes, therefore making her feel absolutely stupid trying to become invisible. Nevertheless, if it was proof that she was or wasn't of this clan, then she would at least try. _"Invisible, like...erasing myself from the scene...like fading away into oblivion..."_ She imagined the positions Neji and Kanroku were in, Neji eyeing her with curiosity tinting his face, Kanroku staring at her intensely, and then, she imagined herself fading away...it was peaceful until she felt someone touch her arm. Tenten opened her eyes to see Neji's hand barely but still touching her arm in concern. "Nej- uh...Arachi?"

"Your chakra reading...it just...disappeared. Rei, you are part of this clan," he said, using her fake name. The words felt like a brick had been chucked at her head, but had disintegrated right before it hit her. She stared.

"This isn't funny Arachi. Come on, we should head home, or go find an inn...or..." she stopped when she saw the look on Neji's face. It supported his statement earlier. She was part of this clan. The bloodline was in her.

Tenten couldn't speak. She was too stunned, too numb. Numb with what, she couldn't say, but nonetheless, numb. Like her mind had stopped, just canceled everything and stopped. She just stood there, Neji's hand still lingering on her arm, Kanroku standing opposite them with a slight smile on his face.

"Now, do you believe me?" he asked.

Tenten nodded dumbly as Neji's hand fell back to his side, and his face became impassive again.

"Good, then would you like me to show you how to control your aura? Bloodline training? If you feel no ties to this family, this would be a good way to start..."

Tenten looked at Neji. He shrugged and her interpretation called that a yes. She looked to Kanroku. "Alright."

"Good, good. Now, its late already, and I'm sure you both are tired from your journey. So, I'll show you to your room and then we can start tomorrow. Both of you will stay during the training?" he asked, looking at Neji.

Neji nodded.

"Wonderful!" exclaimed Kanroku, "Really, this is amazing. I never thought I would ever see you...after all the explanation my brother went through to tell me what your mother looked like, I can see why he fell in love with her just by looking at you..."

Tenten blushed.

"Well, let's get you to your room, shall we?" said a once-again cheerful Kanroku, and he set off across the courtyard, the moonlight making him, in his light kimono, seem like a ghost floating along the garden's edge. Neji and Tenten followed.

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He was just about to fall asleep when Tenten spoke. "Neji, we're in a mess here."

He turned around, eyeing her. "Hn..."

Tenten took it as her cue to continue. "I mean, when we first embarked, we didn't expect to find my family, did we? Its all so...surreal, like a dream. Any minute now, I'll wake up in my room back in Konoha and...and I'll get up and go to training. It will be just like any other day, and this will all be a dream, maybe even a nightmare."

_"She's thinking out loud. After all the events of the day, she chooses now to think aloud...Well, she has every right to, I suppose. What with finding her family, and then learning her mother is unknown and her father is dead...I guess I'd be surprised if she didn't voice her opinion now..."_ Neji thought. "Tenten, you have finally found your family. All those times when I asked you why you talked to me, and you said there was no one else, and now there is," Neji said. He didn't mean to silence her...no, on the contrary he expected some haughty remark about how he wasn't exactly a social butterfly either. But she simply looked at him, hurt evident in her eyes.

"If you wanted me to keep quiet, you could have just told me," she said shifting into a more comfortable position in her futon, and turning away from him.

"Tenten, I didn't mean it like that...I just wanted you to realize that these people are really your family. When you were younger, you used to look at Sakura and Ino, and envy them for their families, and now...now, you have one too. I just wanted to point out that... - Tenten?" Neji was baffled, both at himself and at Tenten. At himself for remembering when Tenten had first confided in him and what it was, and at Tenten because she was shaking. He slowly leaned on his hands from his futon to see her face. _"She's not crying again, is she?"_

A snicker was the only warning of what came next for Neji. Just as he was getting close enough to see her face, his long hair trailing down to her hunched shoulder, she pulled her arm out from under her and while sweeping it across the mattress, literally sweeping Neji off his hands, she turned her body out of the way of his falling torso. Moments later, Neji landed with a soft thud right where Tenten's shoulder had been.

"Wow, you sure fell for that one, Neji," Tenten giggled from her position just north of his face-down head.

"Tenten," Neji said coldly, raising himself slowly from his strange position across two futons.

"What?" Tenten said, smiling. She had just pranked the - no, _the_ Hyuuga Neji, and she was pretty damn proud of it. She was so elated at just the thought of her beating Neji at _something_, that she never saw him pull the futon out from under her already dangerously balanced body. She landed flat on her back on the hard wooden floor with a slightly louder thud than Neji's fall, but she was sure it hurt a hell of a lot more than his. "Damnit, Neji!" she cursed a little louder than she intended.

"Hush, or you'll wake the complex," he said with an infamous smirk, dropping her futon and returning to his.

"Oh, shut up," she muttered, pulling herself back onto her futon, and then replacing the covers over herself.

"Goodnight, Neji," Tenten said quietly ten minutes later, not expecting a reply back.

To her extreme surprise, she heard a quiet 'goodnight' issue from behind her, where Neji lay on his futon, turned away as well. She smiled to herself and let sleep reign over her.

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A/n: If anything didn't make sense during this chapter, tell me... There are a lot of discoveries here and, I would like to make sure that everyone knows what's going on. So, if you do understand the story so far, click the purple arrow button thingy below this and read chapter 8. Hope you like the story!


	8. Chapter 8

A/n: Okie dokie, here's chapter 8 of the story. This one's also kind of long. Enjoy!

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**Chapter 8: Preparation**

"Rei-chan, you really are learning faster than the brat did, you know," said Kanroku. Training had begun a week ago, and she was learning faster than any other student he had ever had. "Okay, let's try it with the mist again, shall we?"

"The mist...?" Tenten said, dazed. It was peaceful, learning how to erase yourself. Tenten was making the most of her time, learning each technique for controlling her chakra reading well. "Oh, the mist! Yeah," she nodded.

Kanroku chuckled, "Still getting woozy from the technique? Don't worry. You'll get used to it over time. Here's the mist." His hands flew through numerous signs, and suddenly, the entire training area was filled with an unearthly and strangely terrifying mist. It was dense, so dense, in fact, that Kanroku, standing just five feet from Tenten, couldn't see her when he finished summoning the mist. "Alright," he called out, "erase yourself."

Tenten did as she was told. She concentrated on the scene, looking down on it from third person, as she had done a week ago in the courtyard, and imagined herself fading from it. _"Wow, this is a cool bloodline trait! I think I'm going to like playing with this...and it'll also help during sparring with Neji. He can't hit me if he can't sense me, now can he?"_

"Rei-chan, you're not concentrating. I can still sense you clearly," Kanroku called into the mist in Tenten's direction.

Tenten concentrated even harder, forcing her mind to stop wandering.

"Much better," Kanroku called again. He turned to Neji, who was standing off to the side on the porch, arms crossed, face stoic. "You want to try and sense her?" he asked.

"Hn," came the reply, as Neji stepped into the training area, into the foreboding mist. It was a strange mist, like it was daring you to enter, to try your luck. But once Neji stepped into the mist, he couldn't turn back. The porch had disappeared from view. _"Alright, all I have to do is find her...this may be harder than I thought. She's gotten very good at this ability, put in a lot of effort too. For the past week, she has just fallen into bed without even undoing her hair. Its only natural that she's this good by now. Kanroku has been pushing her hard lately. I expected nothing le-"_ Neji spun around as a familiar aura came in from behind, and his teammate came into viewing distance, which was about three feet.

"You could sense me?" she asked, confused as to why her technique wasn't working as well as it usually did.

"This bloodline trait doesn't work as well with people who know your chakra. At just the slightest sign if it, they can sense you. That is, unless you can completely hide your reading, completely erase all of your aura," said Kanroku, coming near the two. He dispelled the mist with a wave of his hand. "You know, I think you have almost 90 control over this ability already. You certainly caught on quicker than that Imoshinai brat, I'll tell you that. The only thing left you need to do to master this is to fully erase yourself so that not even Arachi-san here can sense you."

"And that, I'm assuming, is the hardest part of the training?" asked Tenten.

"It was for me," her mentor shrugged, "and I left it out of Imoshinai's training, so if you can master it, you'll have an advantage over him."

Tenten was silent. Was she planning on fighting Imoshinai? On gaining back her pride? _"It doesn't matter...does it? Is that the reason he's teaching me? To fight the thorn in his side? But why wouldn't he fight Imoshinai himself...? No,"_ Tenten thought, _"he must be teaching me this for my own good, not his own...after all, what uncle exploits his niece's talent? But then again...what uncle hates his own nephew...?"_ She shook her head free of the thoughts.

"Shall we eat lunch, then?" said Neji, noting her countenance.

"That sounds appropriate, I would say," Kanroku said, starting towards the kitchen.

Tenten and Neji followed, and the rest of the day was spent idly walking around the Village with a large number of the Reiki family as guides.

That night, Tenten slept with the thought of finally having a family, a real home. Well, not that Konoha wasn't her real home, but she had always felt slightly detached from it. There was a certain hole in her life there that she had attempted to fill with training and Team Gai. She failed. It came to the point, actually, where she had just accepted the fact that she would forever feel that hole there, and she ignored it, or at least did her best to cope with it. It was like erasing that need. But now that it was here...it felt almost like a dream...like she was living the life she had envied from afar. _"Is this...how Neji feels? I mean, the guy doesn't act like he needs his family. Hell, he's probably tried to kill them more than once. Well, that was special. No, he has a family, filled that hole. He has Hinata and Hiashi. Oh and Hanabi, too...Yeah, he's always had a family...I guess he never knew how good he had it..."_ And with that, she drifted off to sleep.

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"She - she's dead!" Eimie screamed from the doorway of the clan mistress' room.

"Wha...?" said Tenten, slowly getting up from her slumber in her own room, which was quite some ways from Kisaki's room. It was way too early to be screaming like this. "Who's dead?"

"It's Kisaki-san, isn't it?" said another clan member from the crowd that was gathering in the courtyard.

Eimie nodded silently. The new morning sun was being manipulated in the heavy fog that still coated the grounds. The light was not yet bright enough to pierce the dense weather that the Village had grown famous for controlling.

Tenten opened her door slowly to the sight of about thirty family members, turned away from her, crowded around the hallway opposite her room. Eimie was standing on the deck, her face contorted into pure and utterly undeniable shock. Neji was apparently up and about as he was standing at the very back of the crowd, nearer to Tenten, arms crossed, face stoic as usual.

He turned around. "We need to find Imoshinai now."

Tenten stared at him. "Why now?"

"Because he just killed his mother."

"Eimie-chan didn't say that," said Tenten, curious as to why Neji was jumping to conclusions. The crowd facing Eimie was reeling with theories as to who killed the late Head's wife. Imshinai's name came up, and it was almost unanimous; he was the killer.

"Do you believe me now?" asked Neji, a smugness in his voice just barely noticeable.

Tenten scowled. "Fine, I'll go get dressed." And they both turned, Neji back to face the extremely haggled looking Eimie, and Tenten back to the room to look for a set of clean clothes. She slid the door closed behind her.

Neji watched the scene before him with mild interest. It wasn't everyday that you were handed the privilege of watching a high ranking clan bicker amongst itself.

Suddenly, a young girl quietly walked up to the stoic Hyuuga, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she spoke, "Mmm, what's going on...? Was there a meeting today?" The stuffed animal in her hands began to drop as she put her hands down. She was still in her nightdress, her strikingly familiar hair tied back in a drooping pony tail at the base of her neck.

_"She looks exactly like Tenten! Am I still asleep? What is up with this clan?"_ Neji thought, slightly taken aback by the mini Tenten standing before him. "...Yes, there was a meeting. It just," Neji paused, trying to think of a believable lie to tell the child, "got slightly out of hand."

"Why are they talking about nii-san? Did he do something wrong...?" The child hugged the toy in her small hands tightly. Worry graced her features. "I hope he doesn't get into trouble..."

Neji crouched down to her level. Curiosity was getting the best of him. "What's your name?"

The young girl looked at him. She didn't flinch at his white-eyed stare. "Reiki Sora. What is yours?"

"Neji." He disregarded his pseudonym for the young girl.

The girl smiled, her eyes still sleepy, and looked toward the crowd. "Neji nii-san, are you here with Rei onee-san?"

Before Neji could answer, an old woman came up. She was short, just reaching twice Sora's height. "Sora-chan, are you annoying this young man here?" She turned to Neji, "I'm sorry. Sora is quite the curious one, ne? Oh! Excuse me for not introducing myself. I am Reiki Heisei. You are here with that girl?" She pointed to the door sliding open behind Neji just as Tenten walked out, clad in an unusual outfit.

Neji turned around, thinking he would see Tenten in one of her usual Chinese tops with cargo pants, but now, he received a bit of a surprise. "...Yes."

"Ah, wonderfu- dear," Heisei addressed Tenten, "what are you doing with that on...? There are no fights happening, are there?"

"Ma'am," said Tenten, "there will be." She was dead serious, and Neji was surprised. Tenten never seemed to be serious of her own accord. A pale, light blue robe that came to her knees was tied loosely at her waist with a bright red sash. A fishnet undershirt showed from beneath the robe. The sash was long, almost reaching the ground where her feet were bare save for wrappings that came up mid-calf.

"You are searching for Imoshinai, yes?" Heisei said quietly, so as not to disturb the dispersing crowd. "I can't stop you, but I will say this: don't kill him, as many of the clan members believe it was you who killed Kisaki. You need him to prove your innocence, dear."

Tenten nodded. "Thank you. I will keep that in mind." And with that, she motioned to Neji, and they started toward the front gate, being careful to stay as silent and unnoticeable as possible. Well, as much as they could going toward the main gate of the complex.

Heisei and Sora watched them leave by the gate. "Auntie, I like them...but...are they going to hurt Imoshi nii-san...?" Sora asked her great aunt.

"No, dear," answered Heisei, "they're going to bring him back." But she knew that something would go down in the woods, something very unpleasant for everyone. With that, she turned around and went inside, Sora at her heals.

----------

"Neji, I sense him," said an extremely focused Tenten, as they both bounded through the woods beyond the Reiki grounds.

"Me too. He must not have activated his ability. But if we can sense him, he can sense us too. So, be careful." The two Jounins rushed forward into a clearing with a small tent. Near the tent was a fire, and near the fire was Imoshinai.

He stood. "Welcome, Tenten, to my humble abode," Imoshinai sneered.

"Imoshinai, I want a rematch," said Tenten, her confidence faltering just barely enough for Neji's perceptive eyes to catch.

"Fine. But why now?" he said.

"Because its not fair to your mother. Her death shouldn't have happened, Imoshinai."

"My-my mother!" He was clearly shocked.

Now Neji spoke up. "Don't act stupid."

This pushed Imoshinai off the deep end. "I'll bet it was you two, wasn't it! You killed her! How dare you lay a finger on her, you scum! She was part of the clan, was that it? And your mother wasn't?" he screamed toward Tenten. She took a small step back, her eyes wide, mind trying to process what she was hearing. _"He didn't do it! Oh my god, he didn't do it! Neji was wrong again...! What is going o-"_

"Tenten!" Neji yelled just in time for her to snap back to reality and hastily dodge a head on attach from Imoshinai.

"Fine!" the furious teen yelled toward Neji, "I'll fight you, too! Hell, both of you at once couldn't lay a finger on me! Now die, you murderers." And with that, he activated his bloodline limit and leapt into the trees, leaving Neji and Tenten in a wide open clearing, with no idea where the enemy went.

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A/n: Hehe...cliffhanger! Fun for authors, not fun for readers! lol Anyway, hope you enjoyed, and the next chapters will be out on the 21st or 22nd. Thanks for reading!


	9. Chapter 9

A/n: Hello, hello! Sorry these two chapters are late...I was lazy yesterday... Well...hope you like the chapter!

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**Chapter 9: For the Head of Clan**

Neither knew where he was. He was almost invisible but for the spurts of faded blue seen through the trees.

"Damn," Tenten cursed under her breath, "he's too fast. I can't...sense him."

A ringing of sinister laughter came from the trees. Neji followed it. "Of course you can't, Tenten," Imoshinai's voice was moving in circles around them at an unbelievable pace, "just like three weeks ago. You couldn't sense me then, either, could yo-"

Tenten relaxed a bit. The plan had worked. Immediately after Imoshinai had jumped to the safety of the trees, both Neji and Tenten knew that the only way they could touch him was for him to give away his position. And what better way than the old decoy trick, where one teammate poses as bate and the other attacks unnoticed?

Neji jumped back from the trees he had disappeared into, holding a body. He dropped it. "Genjutsu," he spat.

A mist began to engulf the area. Neji and Tenten stood back to back, ready for anything. Imshinai's voice rang from the trees once more, this time, not a clone. "Well, I guess I underestimated you two, ne? No matter, you can neither sense nor see me. I am invisible. By the way, what's your boyfriend's name over there, Tenten? He's sure faster than you, kunoichi." He laughed.

Tenten jumped into a nearby tree, leaving Neji alone in the clearing with nothing but his Byakugan. "Ready?" she called out, immediately moving to another branch a few feet away, and activating her limit to the fullest of her ability. She could sense Neji doing the same in the clearing below. _"And now, Imoshinai, come at me. I've grown, and I want to show you, you lying bastard,"_ Tenten thought.

Suddenly, a cry came from Neji's direction. His aura dropped significantly. _"Neji!"_ Tenten jumped down from her tree, making her way to a weakening chakra reading.

She was actually met not with a dying teammate, but with a struggling Imoshinai, held up by his throat by Neji. "You got too close, Imoshinai. Don't ever underestimate your opponent," Neji seemed to enunciate 'ever' slightly more than was necessary, "and by the way, its Neji." His hand closed tighter around the aura manipulator's throat. Imoshinai could feel the blood flow stopping slowly. It was the end of the line for him. _"Damn! How could this happen? What did I do wrong? Everyone trusted me...did they not?"_ his thoughts swirled in his head, becoming the only thing he could hear. Because of this, he did not hear Tenten call out to Neji.

"Neji, stop," she stated as calmly as she could, "we need him to prove my innocence. He needs to confess. Now let him go." The prodigy's white eyes widened slightly, but he complied, knowing what was best. Imoshinia's limp body dropped to the ground, as he struggled to bring new air to his screaming lungs.

Tenten waited until he was breathing again and then picked him up roughly by the collar of his shirt. "Did you kill your mother, Imoshinai?" she asked bluntly. The fog had all but disappeared by now, and the after noon sun shone on her completely serious face. The boy looked up.

"What the hell gave you that idea?" he spat, shrugging Tenten off his collar, "I didn't do anything, haven't even been to the complex since I left to find you. I'm a missing nin, remember? Even if I had managed to get back in, one of the many visitors there would see me. Then my family's reputation would be ruined, and then, it wouldn't matter whether or not I became the Head."

"You...didn't kill her?" Neji stated, puzzlement evident in his voice to those who could catch it.

"No," said Imoshinai, now standing on his own, "but I bet I know who did."

"Who?" asked Tenten, still as puzzled as Neji was. _"But Imoshinai had a motive: his mother sent him away to find me... What on earth is going on here?"_

"Kanroku," Imoshinai stated darkly, "he hates us, always has. Thinks we're always trying to claw our way to the top of this clan when we're already there. He knows that the Reiki clan agreed to the marriage without any bribery from her clan. My mother once told him off for pestering me when I was young, and from then on, he has hated both of us with a passion. Multiple death threats have come in for both of us. The worst part is that around the other clan members, he loves us. His facade is just disgusting at the dinner table, always trying to be the most wonderful uncle in the world." Imoshinai stared in the direction of his house, Tenten looked at Neji, and Neji stared at the ground below his feet, in concentration. Imoshinai spoke again after the brief pause, "You know the reason he trained you in the bloodline limit?"

Tenten shrugged. "Because I'm part of the clan, and I should have a right to know."

Imoshinai's bitter laughter caused Neji to look up in curiosity. "No, Tenten. Don't be so naive. He wanted you to beat me in a match. He trained me, but left out the more important parts of the training. This left me struggling to find it on my own. He told everyone how horrible I was with the training and even asked my father if he could stop training me. That was it, and I just quit. But...my grandmother, she taught me the correct way, in secret, so Kanroku wouldn't know."

Tenten stared at her cousin. With every word he spoke, the malice he had once given off seemed to disappear. He was just a lost teenager trying to hurtle every obstacle that came in his way. He was trying to prove to the clan that he was worth something..._"Kind of like Neji..."_ Tenten thought.

"Then we should go see Kanroku," said Neji, obviously troubled by this new twist.

"Yeah," Tenten nodded. There was no doubt in her mind that the boy in front of her was not lying. With that, the three set off in silence through the trees toward the clan grounds.

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"Eimie-chan," said a seated, tired Kanroku, "we have visitors." They were in a quiet part of the complex, one that no one ever went to. Therefore, the location was the perfect place to execute the plans.

"Who?" asked Eimie quietly, mixing the liquids in her vials until they turned completely clear. She then dipped needles into the concoction, being careful to keep the handled part of the needle clean.

Kanroku's face became thoughtful. "We don't have to go find her, as she has come to us...but with a few more in tow. Meddlesome kunoichi," he muttered as he picked up one of the needles that Eimie had finished dipping into their blend of chemicals. "I won't be but a minute." Kanroku stepped outside. _"Now then, little Tenten, where are you hiding...Ah, there,"_ he thought, sensing Tenten and the other two hiding in the bushes not far off to his right. Slowly, he closed his eyes and picked out Tenten with his outstanding senses. Then, with a quick flick of his wrist, eyes still closed, he flung the needle with deadly accuracy at her head. _"She'll die just like her aunt-in-law."_

_----------_

From the bushes, they couldn't see his face, but he wasn't facing them. From nowhere came a needle aimed straight for Tenten. _"Damn!"_ thought Neji, _"So he knew where we were...I should have been expecting that. Why didn't I?"_

Tenten fell over as Imoshinai tripped her up to move her out of the way of the deadly needle. It barely grazed her arm. "Thanks, Imoshi-" she started. Suddenly, her eyes widened and unfocused and her face paled. The weapons mistress fell back into a slump on the forest floor.

"Tenten!" Neji called out. Kanroku already knew they were there, and there was no use in hiding anymore. She didn't answer.

Kanroku called out from the deck he was still standing on. "My needle was covered with a deadly poison. It seeks out the brain cells in a human before anything else. By not letting it hit her head, you just prolonged her death, child. Now, she has to die the hard way, feeling the poison overtake her consciousness, and then her mind, her thoughts. Eimie-chan is a wonderful chemist, ne?" He laughed.

Tenten squealed in horror at something only she could see, the poison slowly making its way around her brain. Neji looked at her in frustration. _"She's going to die if I don't do something!"_

_----------_

A/n: Short chapter, I know...but the next one is longer. Oh, and I was thinking I wanted to change the title of this chapter...so if you guys have any ideas, tell me...! Ok, now onto chapter 10! Woot!


	10. Chapter 10

A/n: Here's chapter 10! Enjoy!

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**Chapter 10: Battle**

Imoshinai made a move to jump at the laughing Kanroku, but was stopped by Neji. "Neji, let go," Imoshinai stated as calmly as he could in that particular situation.

"No, you stay here with Tenten and make sure that this isn't a trick. It could be an ambush," Neji reasoned. Also, he had no intention of letting Imoshinai kill Kanroku.

Imoshinai huffed and finally consented. He warned, "If you're in trouble out there, I'm coming in whether you like it or not. This clan doesn't support foul play, so I'm sure that this isn't some sort of elaborate plan. Tenten will be fine on her own."

Neji glared at the boy. How the hell could Tenten be fine? And on her own, no less? Was this guy nuts? She was writhing in pain and drowning in hallucinations for god's sake! Finally, with no time to argue, Neji jumped off after a still smirking Kanroku.

"_Geez, what died up his ass?"_ Imoshinai thought, watching the Hyuuga practically bound off after his uncle. He looked down at Tenten, still squirming in her nightmares. Her eyes were wide and unfocused, the sleeve where the needle had grazed her arm was torn and the small cut was still bleeding. _"She's not going to last much longer. Neji had better hurry up, or else he's gonna lose a teammate here…"_

The infamous and deadly mist had appeared seemingly coincidentally. Neji activated his Byakugan. It was no use; Kanroku had also activated his bloodline ability and now, just as Imoshinai had been, was literally invisible. Suddenly, a strong aura was felt all around him, drowning out any reaction his nerves may have had. Kanroku's chakra was everywhere, seeping through the ground, hanging heavy in the air, even penetrating Neji's lungs. _"Damn! What is this!"_

As if on cue, Neji noticed a figure to his right, just inside his field of vision, coming at him with tremendous speed. Quickly, he dodged backward and tried to land a punch on the figure. It went by so fast that Neji could barely see who it was, with the mist. But he was sure that it was Kanroku. Just as soon as the overwhelming chakra reading had appeared, it disappeared. Neji felt lank, like a sack of potatoes without the potatoes. It was like the sudden charge of chakra in the area had burned his nerves and now they were being run under ice cold water. Before he could adjust to the new change, he was struck again. This time, though, he didn't see it coming. The mist still hid everything, but his Byakugan… Why wasn't it working? _"Oh god…"_ thought Neji, as he realized what Kanroku had just discovered, _"he's found my blind spot. This is bad. Now he knows where to strike. Okay, I just need to keep moving and he won't have a chance t-"_ Neji's thoughts were interrupted by another strike to the blind spot. This time, it was harder, more confident. The prodigy toppled over slightly, coming too close to the ground for his liking.

The overwhelming sensation of Kanroku's chakra came yet again, and again, while Neji was still trying to adjust, Kanroku struck the blind spot, this time with a kunai, nicking him hard in the back. Attack after attack came, the only constant being that Neji's senses were trying to recover after some aura change right before each attack. Finally, Kanroku decided to speak up from his hiding place. "And you beat that brat? Wow, he must've been weaker than I thought…Well, no matter. He'll be finished off sooner of later, along with that prying little girlfriend of yours, ne?" The voice echoed from everywhere, like Kanroku was literally ubiquitous. The trees that were visible through the dense fog seemed to speak Kanroku's words, as did anything in view. It was like the whole scene was against the slowly fading Hyuuga prodigy. Everything looked so sinister, so evil in the mist. Neji decided right then and there that from then on, he would hate the mist. Provided, of course, that he made it out of this alive…

"I knew it was too much for him," said an extremely wary Imoshinai from the bushes. Neji's aura had weakened significantly in the last few minutes. Each attack from Kanroku was devastating to the white-eyed teen's health. "I have to go in, don't I?" Imoshinai asked rhetorically to a now quiet Tenten. She was unconscious and lying on the forest floor. A pained expression still hung on her face. "Well, hang in there, Tenten," Imoshinai murmured quietly before jumping off to help Neji.

The said teen was in bad shape. Cuts littered his pale skin over the bruises caused by falling so many times. A small trickle of blood was coming from the corner of his mouth, and his right arm seemed slightly limper than Imoshinai remembered it when it was clutching his throat. "Hope I didn't come to late, Neji," he said, making sure that it was loud enough for Kanroku to hear, wherever he was.

Neji's eyes widened slightly at the sight of Imoshinai. Wasn't he supposed to be with Tenten? "What are you doing here?" he asked trying to calm his aching, burning, freezing nerves.

"Covering you," said Imoshinai, smirking. "Let's go, Kanroku!" he yelled blindly into the mist.

Back to back, Neji and Imoshinai stood their ground for nearly ten attacks from the confident Kanroku, dodging, punching, and kicking when they could. Both were breathing heavily after the barrage of attacks. Although Neji still couldn't get used to the sudden and frequent changes in Kanroku's aura, Imoshinai could. It was second nature to him.

"Can you sense him?" Neji asked Imoshinai, turning slightly to see the teen behind him.

He nodded. "Yeah, but I can't get an exact location. Use those eyes of yours. He's over in that general direction." Imoshinai pointed slightly to his right.

Neji turned from his position behind the Reiki and glared in that general direction, his Byakugan needing too much effort. Something moved in the distance, but Neji couldn't tell whether it was Kanroku or not. Concentrating more chakra than was necessary into his eyes, he focused harder, keeping his dying teammate in mind. There! Was that it? Yes…no…yes! It was! "He's at two o' clock exactly," Neji whispered, making sure the figure in the distance didn't hear him.

Before the words were fully out of his mouth, Imoshinai was gone, off into the mist searching only on an instinct. Suddenly, Kanroku's aura became engulfing again. Neji prepared for another attack, this time, with no one guarding his blind spot. But no attack came, only the sound of flesh meeting flesh in a rather hard blow. The sickening sound came from the direction Neji had sent Imoshinai. _"He got himself into trouble, didn't he?"_ Neji thought, going after his new ally.

He was greeted with a scene that looked strikingly familiar. Imoshinai held up a bruised Kanroku by his neck. Imoshinai's right hand was clenched tight around his uncle's neck. "Guess you didn't beat me, huh?" he sneered with enough venom to kill an elephant in two seconds. Kanroku only gurgled out an inaudible reply. His oxygen was being cut off. The mist was disappearing slowly, as was Kanroku's consciousness.

"Imoshinai, stop," said Neji, in his usual stoic manner, "He needs to be alive and able to talk if we want to prove your innocence." Again, the scene was almost frighteningly familiar.

Imoshinai's dark, smoldering eyes never left Kanroku as he dropped the older man to the ground. Kanroku gasped and panted for air. How did he lose? And to this brat, no less…? What went wrong? The boy had never finished his training with him, so when did he become this good…? Did someone else finish the training…? No, that can't be it…can it? Kanroku's thoughts swarmed in his head. He had to come clean. "I'll finish up here," said Imoshinai, still eyeing his uncle, "You go help Tenten. There's a clinic down the road from here. Take her there and hurry."

Neji didn't need telling twice and was by Tenten's side before Imoshinai had turned back to Kanroku, which he did quite quickly lest the conspirator have any more guile left in him.

"Hold on, Tenten," Neji said quietly as he lifted her and sprinted in the direction of the clinic. It wasn't that far, but it was far enough that Neji almost began to believe that Tenten wasn't going to make it by the time he arrived there. The nurse took one look at the girl and called on the emergency room doctors, right there in the lobby. They immediately whisked Tenten away in a flurry of babbled doctor lingo and tubes. In a matter of minutes the empty lobby was quiet again. Neji was left with a slightly surprised look on his face, still standing in front of the counter, arms barely drooping from the position they had been in on the way here. _"These guys certainly work fast…"_ he thought.

----------

Imoshinai dragged a fading Kanroku alongside himself. He hadn't been back to the compound in a month. It hadn't changed, but it still felt so…foreign? Was that the word? No, the word was empty. The compound was empty. It was missing his father, the Head, the glue that held the family together, the reason Imoshinai consented to his grandmother teaching him about his leneage. The grounds were also missing his mother. Imoshinai fought the urge to kill Kanroku right there in the middle of the courtyard. He was getting stares from everyone, even Sora. _"Sora! Oh god, I hope she'll forgive me for leaving, but I had to. She'll understand, won't she?"_ Imoshinai thought as he pulled Kanroku behind him now. The older man was bleeding from a cut just above his eyebrow, and was sporting a nasty looking bruise beneath the same eye. He stumbled and fell. Imoshinai had neither the patience nor the inclination to pull him up from the middle of the garden. _"Let him make his confession here,"_ he thought, as he looked up defiantly at the rest of the clan scattered around on the surrounding deck.

Sora stared back at him from behind Heisei, the little stuffed animal clutched to her heart. She held his eyes for just a moment before running across the garden, trampling the flowers and sidestepping the statues, toward him. Just before she reached him, she tripped rather ungracefully over a small bush, and the young seven-year-old literally flew into Imoshinai's open arms. "Nii-san!" she shrieked, sobbing openly, not caring if anyone did not approve.

"Shh, Sora, its okay. I'm here, and I'm okay. Calm down." Imoshinai tried to calm down the little girl. She worshipped him in a sisterly manner, always offering encouragement and support. When he left, he had the hardest time not telling her out of all of the rest of the clan because she had become so close to him. At times, she would be his shadow, following him around just to bug him. But the truth was that these two were closer than any other two cousins in the entire complex.

"Nii-san, I missed you…Why did you leave? I hate you for leaving, you know…" she sobbed through her tears, which were soaking through Imoshinai's dirtied shirt.

"Sora, I had to leave. I had no choice. If I didn't leave, I might be dead by now," Imoshinai decided to scare her into placidity. But it was the truth. If he hadn't left when he did, he might've been attacked by Kanroku and Eimie, and ended up with the same fate as his parents.

The little child looked at him questioningly and then down at Kanroku who was still on all fours on the ground. "What's wrong with Kanroku-san?" she asked innocently.

Imoshinai turned so that he faced the man on the ground. "Let's find out," he said icily.

Kanroku glared up at him and then at the rest of the family gathered on the decks of the complex. Wiping a dribble of blood from the side of his face, he stared each and every member in the eye for no longer than a second. Eimie wasn't there. Kanroku grinned to himself. _"Of course she's not here. She wants to save her own skin and get the hell away from here."_ But after a second look at the gathered clan, he saw her, standing off to the side, a pained and worried look on her face. _"Or not…"_

_----------_

It had been just over an hour. The receptionist was eyeing Neji with obvious distrust. Nothing ever took her doctors longer than a few minutes to fix, so why was this taking so long? Had he brought in some sort of spying device and tricked them into letting it into the operating room?

Neji noticed the receptionist's look and couldn't help but sigh inwardly to himself. She had told him right after Tenten was taken to the operation room that because they were not from Kirigakure, they had to pay full price for the operation. This was a mess, a huge, tremendous mess. Tenten might be dying, Imoshinai had to extract the truth from an unwilling Kanroku, Eimie had probably fled the country, and here he was getting death stares from a paranoid receptionist. "I'm not a criminal," he said to the lady still glaring at him from behind her computer. She 'hmphed' and turned back to her work. Not only was this lady extremely infuriating, but her continuously clicking keyboard was too. Even while she was looking at him, her fingers were flying across the loud keyboard, making a terribly annoying melody of clicks that sounded something like rain falling on a tin roof. His injuries had been fixed up just a few minutes ago, but still his head was throbbing with each annoying drop of rain from the computer.

Suddenly, a doctor came out of the room Tenten had been taken into. Neji stood up, not wanting to hear the news, but at the same time dying to hear her condition. The two words from the doctor made the entire ordeal worth it. "She's stable."

Neji fought the urge to smile brightly and smirk at the receptionist, as a wave of relief swept over him. "Can I see her?" he asked unemotionally. The doctor nodded and turned back to the room. Neji followed.

It was dark. Tenten was resting on a hospital bed, her hair out of its two normal buns and flowing over the edges of the mattress. Tubes were running all around her, but none were actually in her. They were stained red. Every minor scratch had been covered, and the scratch that Kanroku's needle had made was slathered in disinfectant and then covered with a gauze patch. It was a little much for a minor scratch, but then again, Neji was no doctor. Maybe the wound needed to be completely disinfected lest there be any more poison there. The doctor left, leaving Neji and a sleeping Tenten in the room. He slowly walked up to her, a certain softness coming over him that had never been there before. Silently, Neji took a chair from the table at the other end of the small room and sat it right next to the bed before resting himself comfortably in it. This seemed familiar, didn't it...?

Just as he did so, Tenten shifted slightly and then awoke, startled at first. "Neji, what's going on? Where are we?" she asked alarmed. Slowly, she calmed down as she scanned the surrounding area.

"We're in the clinic, Tenten. They treated your wounds," Neji stated, coolly.

"Oh…" This was the last way she wanted Neji to see her, afraid and overly alert, like prey. She was feeling helplessly vulnerable. _"Eh, what the hell, let's see his reaction to a simply thank you,"_ she thought, wondering how she could possibly feel any weaker. "Neji," she said timidly. He looked her in the eye, telling her to continue. "Thanks." There, she had said it. She broke eye contact, looking down, and waited for the inevitable 'hn' that would follow. It never did.

Neji watched her gaze fall from his own. She had thanked him before, many times actually. But this time felt…different somehow. Instead of nodded with his usual 'hn' like he usually did, Neji decided to answer with a real word, a sentence even. "You're welcome, Tenten," he said quietly, still watching her downcast eyes intently. As he expected, she nearly fell out of the bed with shock. Her eyes that, an hour ago were large and unfocused, were now large and focused entirely on him. It was almost uncomfortable being the object of her awe once again. She hadn't stared at him like that since the day she had met him, when she was forced to train with him because Gai and Lee were practicing together.

Tenten stared at Neji like he was some rare specimen of bug that could magically turn into weapons, with pure, untainted awe. Was this the Neji she knew, the cold, aloof one she had come to know and maybe even love…? Was this the same guy who trained with her day in and day out, who didn't seem to give a damn whether she had other plans for the day? Hell no! This guy was blushing…! Albeit slight, it was still noticeable on the Hyuuga's trademark pale skin. Or maybe it was the setting sun in the window across from the bed that painted the normally bare, white room all sorts of shades of burning oranges, soft pinks, and undecided violets. Yes, that had to be it… Slowly, Tenten let her expression fall from utterly shocked to just slightly amused at Neji's three word response. She cocked her head to one side, putting on her funny little smile that she always pulled out of her collection of emotions whenever something amazed her.

Neji noted the strange smile that graced her features. It was one that was rarely used these days, since nothing seemed to completely catch the Weapons Mistress off guard anymore. She hadn't really used it since their first day of training together when he had shown her what exactly a Hyuuga could do. She had simply stood there, dumbstruck with awe, staring at the waves of chakra coming from his hands, while he stood impatiently waiting for her to start, in his battle-ready position. A gurgling noise brought him back to reality.

Tenten looked down at her starving stomach sheepishly. "Hey…Neji, would you get me something to eat…? I haven't eaten since last night…"

Neji was just about to move when he realized a slight flaw in his idea: he had no money left. "I'm broke," he stated matter-of-factly.

Again, Tenten was caught off guard by the Hyuuga. He what? "Wh-what?" she asked.

"We don't have any money, Tenten. I had to dig through both our pockets just too to find enough money for the operation."

"Oh…" said Tenten, slightly surprised. _"The clinic must've charged a lot if they cleaned out Neji…"_

"We should head back to your family. They will want to know what happened to you," Neji said, breaking the awkward silence that had ensued after Tenten's shock set again yet again. She nodded and began to clamber out of the bed. Her feet, which were bare, had new wrappings. They felt good against the solid floor of the clinic.

After testing out her feet to make sure she could still walk, her cheery, light countenance replaced whatever else was on her face before that, and she proceeded toward the door, Neji following behind her.

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A/n: Eh...I think Neji seemed a little OOC here...well anyway, tell me what you think and I'll fix it. I kind of had fun lightening up the mood after the battle, which hopefully gave away Tenten's condition before you read it... I'm thinking that the last two chapters will be up either tonight or tomorrow. (Tomorrow is the 22nd if you didn't know...)Ok, hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading!


	11. Chapter 11

A/n: Welcome to the last installment of "Secrets." I hope everyone enjoyed it! These last two chapters are dedicated to everyone who reviewed, and especially to "scharlo" for reviewing every chapter. scharlo...you rock! Ok, on with the writing.

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**Chapter 11: Farewell**

Sora gaped at her uncle from her perch in Imoshinai's arms. Was he telling the truth? He killed his own brother and sister-in-law? What was this clan coming to?

Imoshinai glared at the man on the ground before him. _"The bastard,"_ he thought, _"trying to frame me! Good god, the man's a lunatic…"_

"Well," spoke Heisei from her spot on the deck, her voice showing quite a bit of distress under her calm shell, "I think we all know what to do with you now, son." She spoke coldly to her younger – no, older – son. Everyone looked at her, curiosity in their eyes. _"They all wonder if I'll say it…"_ she thought, _"if I'll put my own son on trial. Well of course I will. Just because he's heir doesn't mean he's exempt from justice."_ She spoke. "You'll be put on trial."

The man kneeling before her on the ground regarded her coldly, like he was above listening to his mother. She glared back, astounded and ashamed that she had brought up the creature before her. Slowly, purposefully, she walked away, telling the whole world that she had turned her back on her only living son. The rest of the clan followed suit.

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Neji and Tenten arrived to the unnaturally quiet grounds of the Reiki complex. After letting themselves in through the front gate, they looked around for the rest of the clan, but no one presented themselves. The place was bare. After a few minutes of listening, Tenten picked up two familiar voices. She and Neji followed them until they came to Imoshinai and Sora sitting on the edge of the wraparound deck, their legs dangling off comfortably. They were talking quietly over tea when they heard the Konoha pair walk up.

"You're back," said Imoshinai quietly. The child sitting next to him squealed softly and ran to Neji. Everyone but Sora was surprised at that.

"Neji nii-san, you're back!" she said, hugging just above his knees in her small grasp.

"Well, Imoshinai, look's like you've got some competition," Tenten joked, still keeping her voice down so as not to disturb the tranquility of the near silent Reiki compound.

Imoshinai glared teasingly back at her while Neji slowly pried his newest fan girl from his knees, the smallest smile bending the corners of his lips upward. Behind the four, a door opened, and for the first time, Tenten realized where they were: the office near the front gate.

Heisei stepped out slowly, as if walking was a labor meant for the young energetic ninja she once was. Her face was lined with the troubles of a thousand years, and her eyes held a pain that no mother should have gone through. "May I see you two?" she asked stiffly, gesturing toward Neji and Tenten. Both nodded and walked into the darkened study. She seated herself behind the desk that so long ago, Eimie had sat in, welcoming the pair to the Reiki grounds. Neji and Tenten slowly sat across from her, the look on her face not foretelling of good news. "You both deserve to know the truth about Kanroku," she began, "It is not something I wish you to scream to the world, so please, only tell your Hokage-sama, and then keep this under lock and key." The two ninja in front of her nodded resolutely. She continued. "While you were both gone, Imoshinai came back to the complex with Kanroku."

"We know," Neji said quietly.

"Kanroku confessed to some terrible crimes, you know." Heisei paused, as if contemplating whether or not to tell the expectant twosome before her. "He…impersonated his brother, killed him, and then killed his brother's wife. He was planning on killing Imoshinai as well." She received two stares full of apprehension, as the three sat in awkward silence.

Tenten spoke up. "If you don't mind, Heisei-san, I, as part of this clan, would like to know what exactly my uncle did."

Heisei sighed. "He's not your uncle, Rei. He's yo-"

"May I clear something up before you continue?" said Tenten, her fake name irking her to no end, "My name is Tenten. I came under a false name because we were originally sent as spies."

Heisei just stared, not coldly, but not with admirtion either. Then with another heavy sigh, she continued, "Alright, I shouldn't expect anything less from a trained kunoichi. Anyway, Tenten, Kanroku is your father."

Now, it was Tenten's turn to stare.

"You see," said Heisei, her worn, creased face becoming even more creased, "Your father and uncle switched places. Kanroku – the one you know – is the older one. He went to Konoha on a mission and had the affair only a few months before his own marriage. Since they were identical, his brother offered to switch places with him, to save him the trouble of being found for DNA or such things. Neither knew how Kisaki-san would react, so to be safe, they switched places. Kanroku was the name of the younger twin, and Kyouji was the older one. All this time, Kyouji has been living under his brother's name and vice versa. So, from now, I shall address them by their real names." Heisei glanced up from her hands in her lap to make sure Neji and Tenten were following her.

They were and she continued again. "After Kanroku took the title of Head, he let Kyouji guide from the sidelines. After all, they were twins and very close, so no one suspected anything. Just before Kanroku's death, his decisions were becoming uncharacteristic and brash. No one suspected that Kyouji was using blackmail and Kanroku put up a good façade to hide it. But when the time came to select the next heir, the twins disagreed, Kyouji wanting his turn. Kanroku knew that Kyouji's background reign was going too far, and he put his foot down. So, Kanroku…poisoned h-him." Heisei's voice began to choke up, and tears began to well in her already puffy eyes. However, she continued, nonetheless. "Next in line for the title was the wife, so…he…killed her as well. But not before planning ahead and performing a jutsu on her. It was some sort of nerve affecting technique that gave the user complete control over the victim for just a minute. Kyouji used this to convince Imoshinai to leave the country in search of you, Tenten. He knew about you, obviously. So, he thought he would let you battle it out with Imoshinai while he took care of Kisaki-san. Kyouji also knew that sending Imoshinai away would make him a missing-nin, thus making him illegible for the title of Head. He was next in line after Imoshinai in the scheme of things, and therefore had the title of Head of Clan for a short amount of time when Imoshinai and Kisaki were gone. However," Heisei paused, again unsure of whether or not to hold her tongue on the matter at hand. She decided not to. "However, Kyouji is obviously not legible to become the head, and you, Tenten, are his daughter. So…" Heisei trailed off, looking into the kunoichi's eyes.

They were lit up. "I-I don't know what to say…Heisei-san," Tenten stuttered for the second time in her life.

Heisei smiled. "You don't have to say anything, dear. Just nod or don't."

Slowly at first, then more definitively, Tenten's head moved up and down. It was settled; she was going to be head of a clan.

Neji shifted uncomfortably next to her. She numbly turned her head toward him, her eyes alert and focused but not really seeing him.

"Then let's start getting the celebration together," said Heisei in the most cheerful voice she had used in a long time.

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The celebration consisted of a large picnic set for the entire clan out in the garden. It would be a sunset dinner, and everyone, despite the shocking news of the day before, was extremely excited. Just an hour before the start of the dinner, Tenten and Neji had finished sparring. "To work up an appetite," Tenten had told Sora, who was baffled as to why exactly there was a fight occurring just before dinner right where the table would be set up. The young girl had simply laughed and run off to play tag and annoy whoever wasn't doing whatever they could to help the overworked cooks and maids prepare for the celebration.

Neji and Tenten had both been given formal wear for the occasion, Tenten's obviously more elaborate, seeing as she was a female and would be the center of attention tonight.

Finally, the hour came and everyone arrived at the table except Tenten. After the family and Neji were seated, she came out from her room, dressed in what Neji could only describe as exotic. A long, bright red cloth-like ribbon was wrapped multiple times covering her torso and coming almost halfway to her knees with an obi tied around her slim waist. The red fabric was tied in a bow on the side of her thigh, with the Reiki clan symbol gracing the bottoms of the dangling ribbons. Covering her arms was a jacket-like garment with long, kimono-reminiscent sleeves. It disappeared beneath the sides of the top wrap of the scarlet ribbon, leaving a triangle of skin visible from her neck to the top wrap, and reappeared coming out from beneath the ribbon near her knees. The light, powder blue cloth came out in natural pleats from underneath the ribbon and cascaded down to just below her ankles where it brushed lightly against her elevated geta. Her hair had been done up into one large bun at the back of her head with two red hair ornaments sticking out of it. _"Well…that was unexpected,"_ thought Neji, trying to gain the little composure he had lost by staring at his teammate of six years.

"To the new leader," said Heisei, raising a glass. The rest of the clan followed suit, "To Tenten!"

Neji just shrugged and held up his glass wordlessly. If she was going to be leader here…it meant she wouldn't be going back to Konoha with him. In fact, she would close to never be in Konoha after this ceremony. The thought struck a chord inside Neji. _"No more practices, no more three person missions, no more…Tenten,"_ he thought miserably, though his face didn't betray one melancholy thought. _"Ah well, if she feels obliged to help these people put their lives back together, then there is nothing I can do to stop her."_ Everyone drank just as Tenten sat down, so none of them saw her stumble in the uncomfortable geta she was sporting. Everyone except Neji, of course, who incidentally happened to catch her by the arm as well.

"Damn shoes," she muttered. Neji gave her a trademark smirk. She glared back, and then sat at the head of the table to Neji's right.

The dinner was a joyous event that was so unlike their first dinner here, that Neji was beginning to think the entire household was bipolar in some way. Everyone laughed and clapped and was generally louder than usual. Even Imoshinai, sitting next to Sora, was very close to starting a food fight. He was stopped by a formidable glare from his grandmother, who spared a glare for Sora too. She nearly withered in her seat, but soon resumed talking loudly and clinging to Imoshinai as she had before. The numerous curries and dumplings on the table were soon gone, and when they were, Heisei commanded everyone to go walk around for some time to help the food digest. She was largely ignored, playfully of course, and everyone left to their quarters except Neji and Tenten.

"Wow, I never knew they could throw a party like that!" Tenten said, happily polishing off the last of the dumplings.

"Me either," said Neji, silently amazed that she could still eat after all that food. He looked up. The sun was long gone as it was nearly eleven, and the stars glittered throughout the heavens.

"Hey…Neji?" Tenten's voice quieted down. He looked over at her. "Well…since I really don't know anyone here, and it'll be really stressful becoming Head, I was wondering if you…" she trailed off.

"Tenten, I can't," said Neji quietly. There was a slight, indecipherable hint of emotion in his voice.

Tenten was shocked. "Wh-what? Why not? It'll only be for a few more weeks until I get everything settled. Neji, I can't just suddenly sit down and do paperwork all day…I-I need to train, and-and I-"

"You should have thought of that before you nodded, Tenten," said Neji, standing. It was painful leaving a teammate, leaving a friend, leaving...Tenten. "I have to get back to my own clan, you know. Don't you think they are worried about me? About us? We haven't written to Tsunade-sama in over three weeks. Everyone there will be worried. So will Lee and Gai."

The look on Tenten's face made Neji want to stay, but he knew he couldn't do that. He had to leave. Tenten knew better than to keep the Hyuuga against his will. "…Alright," said Tenten, tears beginning to form. Nevertheless, she smiled, "Give my regards to everyone. I won't be seeing them for a while, I guess." She lowered her gaze. "I have a duty to my family now…and I have to fulfill it."

Neji stared at the kunoichi in front of him. Finding her family hadn't changed her too much. For that much he was glad. "I'll go pack. Tell your grandmother that I am thankful for the robes." He turned and went back to his room.

Tenten stared after him. She had been dreading this day all along. It was the last day she would see Neji for a while. She couldn't help but let her tears fall freely, streaking down her face and landing on her silken dress. _"I…can't believe this…He's finally leaving me…He's finally gone forever, and there's no…chance-"_ she shook the thought out of her head, _"Of course, there's no chance, you idiot! There never was a chance that he would see you any differently than a teammate. You're just a teammate!"_ Her conscience brought her crashing back to reality and she wiped her tears when Neji, clad in his usual garments, emerged from the room, his backpack on.

The tearstained face staring back at him made something happen that Neji didn't know could ever happen with him. His heart wrenched. Neji wanted so badly to look away from the face that had been his console from his family life for so long, but he couldn't. He just couldn't bring himself to do such a heinous injustice to the woman in front of him. Slowly, he walked toward the front gate and Tenten followed, drying her tears. It was a slow, time consuming walk that was put on deliberately by both.

When they reached the front gate, it was all Tenten could do to keep from breaking down right there in front of her stoic teammate. So she slowly hugged him. She figured it was the craziest thing she had done in her entire life. But desperate times called for desperate measures, didn't they?

Neji stared down at Tenten. She had never done this before…was she sick from all the food? His conscience slapped him. Slowly, he bent down slightly and hugged her back, right there by the front gates under the starlight. He could feel her tears seeping through his shirt. "Tenten, I'm sorry, but I have to leave," he said quietly. She nodded from her position in his arms and let go. When Neji could see her face again, she wasn't crying. She was giving him a sort of sad, forced smile that was shallower than a puddle. He turned and walked through the front gate, not looking back.

Tenten watched the receding figure of Neji disappear down the deserted streets. She had put on the best smile she could muster just now, which wasn't a very good one. In a matter of seconds, the Hyuuga prodigy was gone from her view thanks to the fact that the Reiki grounds were on top of a hill and the path leading away was nearly a cliff. She slowly trudged back to the garden and sat on a stone bench, resting her chin in her hands. The garden was beautiful, well maintained and green with every kind of exotic plant imaginable. Tenten suddenly remembered her house back hom- no, in Konoha. All of her weapons and clothes were still there. She sighed, thinking of how to tell Tsunade to deliver her belongings to this location. A sudden chakra reading woke her from her thoughts. It was Heisei.

"You don't have to stay, you know," she said. Tenten simply gave her a small, gloomy smile and turned to star gazing. "I mean it," Heisei said softly.

This time, Tenten spoke, though she didn't turn from her stars. "But I do, Heisei-san. I have a duty to this family."

"Believe me, dear, you have fulfilled it just by coming to us. No one knew of you before except one man who could have killed the entire clan. We also have you to thank for helping to catch him," the old woman said, "Everyone will understand if you have to leave. No one here expects you to throw away your former life just for us, for this corrupt clan."

Tenten looked at her, her eyes full of question. "Then who will lead this clan, Heisei-san? Who will make sure no one else steps out of line?"

Heisei looked her granddaughter in the eye. "I will, dear. And I'll be Head until someone suitable comes of age or presents themselves."

The younger of the two stood. "Alright," she said quietly, "I should pack." And she left to pack up the rest of the belongings in the room she had shared with Neji. When she came back, she was dressed in her usual Chinese shirt and cargo pants with her backpack on. "Heisei-san," she whispered as Heisei went to hug her.

"Tenten-chan, come back some time to visit, okay?" Heisei said softly into her granddaughter's hair. Tenten nodded. "Alrighty then," said Heisei, smiling for the woman beside her, as they began the short walk to the front gate, "Be careful. And write when you reach home, okay?"

Tenten nodded again to the old woman in front of her. "I will." And with that, Tenten walked out of the front gate towards her home, the one she knew would always be her home, even if she didn't wish it to be. She had lived there too long to just let it go, as was obvious by her decision to leave Kirigakure.

Heisei watched her granddaughter leave. "Goodbye, Reiki Tenten," she whispered to the wind, hoping the young woman heard it.

"Goodbye…obaa-san."

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A/n: Eh...hope that Neji wasn't too OOC for you there... Personally, I don't think its too bad considering some of the fics I have read, but thats just me. Oh, and "obaa-san" means grandmother, roughly. Hope you liked the chapter!


	12. Chapter 12

A/n: Okie, last chapter...its not really a chapter, but lets just call it one for now. Again, thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

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**Chapter 12: Epilogue**

Tenten opened the letter carefully. It was from her family back in Kiri. She read it aloud to the only other person in the room.

"Dearest Tenten,

"How are you? I hope the journey back wasn't too much of a hassle. Thank you so much for writing back, dear. Well, all's well here. I finally found an heir: Imoshinai. He displayed much of the necessary qualities to become Head, so I decided to let him. Of course, I am keeping a close watch on him, so rest assured. Also, about you're now deceased ANBU members, you should know that we here are all very sorry for the loss, and so is Imoshinai. But you must also know that the person who is actually responsible for their deaths is behind bars. You see, Imoshinai was given some sort of concoction made by Eimie that affected the nerves and emotions. Therefore, he wasn't truly responsible for their deaths. Oh! That's right. If you didn't know already, Eimie and Kyouji had an agreement that when he became Head, she would be put on the council, so she helped him. And she followed him to jail as well.

"Tenten-chan, you really must visit some time soon. Sora-chan is just miserable without your friend as well. Neji, is it? She keeps asking for 'Neji-kun.' Poor Imoshinai is just heartbroken! His little shadow seems to have found a new host, ne? Well anyway, the upcoming Chuunin Exams should be a good opportunity to come see us over here. They're only a few months away, right? Ask your Hokage-sama if she'll let you be the representative to the Mist Village. Everyone here seems to agree that it would be a good idea, so stop by sometime…please?

"Well, that's all I really have to say. Everyone here sends their regards, Imoshinai included. By the way, he wants a one-on-one rematch, or so he says. Honestly, the things you young people do these days…anyway stop by sometime, and I would like to see some great grandchi-"

Tenten stopped abruptly and turned a bright shade of crimson that matched the robes she had been given as a gift from her clan. Neji had a pretty good idea of why she had stopped. He would have stopped too, but well before 'grandchildren.' He smirked.

"Well, how's that? They miss us, Neji, and you have a new fan girl," Tenten smiled, getting over her initial shock at her grandmother's forewardness.

"Are you going to take up her offer?" he asked, slightly less unemotionally than before the mission.

Tenten stared at the sentence on the page. _Ask your Hokage-sama if she'll let you be the representative to the Mist Village._ "I already have. I asked Tsunade-sama right after we arrived home, and she agreed."

"Hn," came Neji's universal response for things that didn't require an actual answer.

"Okay, I'm going to start preparing for the exams. I'll meet you here in an hour, and then we'll leave for Kirigakure. And don't worry, I already checked with Tsunade-sama," Tenten said turning to leave. She received no reply. Tenten smiled. He had heard her words. He always did.

**Fine**

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A/n: The end... Again, I sincerely hoped you all liked it, and thank you so much for reading. You have no idea how much it means, so thanks a ton!


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